By Gareth Rees: Kell Brook (29-0) earned himself a shot at the IBF Welterweight title after a 3rd round stoppage victory over Hector Saldivia (41-3). After his disappointing performance in the win against Carson Jones last time out, Brook made sure he was totally ready and came out with a new attitude in his preparations for this title eliminator and the results were obvious.

Many have pointed out that he looked physically better than ever and reports were that it was the best camp of his career and unlike in the preparation for Jones he was 100% dedicated, even bringing in a new nutritionist to help with the weight cut.

Saldivia came in with the reputation of being a typical Argentinian banger but with a suspect chin and Brook was quick to test out Saldivia’s chin as he rocked him on more than one occasion before knocking him down in the first round. Brook was obviously respectful of Saldivia’s power and didn’t want to risk everything going in all guns blazing but after the early knockdown it was obvious Saldivia was scared of Brook’s power as he only let go of his hands once at the end of the second round, which Brook was able to deal with.

But throughout the fight Brook looked comfortable landing with fast, hard combinations and Saldivia became heavily marked around both eyes quite quickly. After the second round Brooks’ corner told him to use his jab which he listened to, as early in the third round, he caught him with a left before a stiff left jab sent Saldivia to the floor, Saldivia got to his feet but was obviously in no state to continue as the ref stopped the fight. Brook will now wait to see who wins in the fight between Devon Alexander and Randall Bailey later tonight to know who his next opponent is.

Earlier in the night Jamie McDonnell (20-2-1) eased to a TKO victory over late replacement Darwin Zamora (21-6-1) as Zamora’s corner stopped the fight at the beginning of the 9th round. McDonnell was visibly a class above as well as being a naturally bigger fighter than the brave Zamora. McDonnell landed 50% of his punches and rocked Zamora on many occasions; whilst Zamora did at times come back with flurries of his own, but every time he attacked he did leave himself very open to McDonnell’s counter punches. This victory moves McDonnell into position for a possible shot at the IBF Bantamweight title.

The only negative to come out of this fight for McDonnell would be the fact that he was physically the bigger fighter and landed a lot of clean punches, but despite hurting Zamora on countless occasions he never even knocked Zamora down once. McDonnell had a reputation for not being a heavy puncher but this really highlights the issue and could be a problem when McDonnell takes a step up in class in challenging for a title.

Both of these victories mean there should be some exciting fights for British boxing fans, as Brook also repeated his desire to face Khan in the near future saying he wants to “knock Khan’s chin off”. With Hatton returning as well, there are plenty of good fights waiting for Brook in 2013.