By Jim Calfa: Kell Brook (40-3, 28 KOs) took care of Amir Khan (34-6, 21 KOs) in easy fashion with a sixth round precision stoppage on Saturday night at the AO Arena in Manchester, England. This was vintage Brook, who looked just as powerful tonight as he had in his 2016 fight against Gennady Golovkin.
The difference was, Brook wasn’t facing a huge puncher in Golovkin. Khan didn’t possess anywhere near enough punching power to keep Brook off of him and the fight looked like a wartime massacre.
Khan looked like a platoon that lured into an ambush and had no way out of the firefight.
Brook had too much size and power for the much weaker Khan, and it was target practice for him tonight. In the fifth round, Brook switched gears on Khan, unloading on him at will with power shots.
Surprisingly, the referee chose not to halt the fight in the fifth because he could have and no one would have complained, least of all Khan.
In the sixth, Brook immediately jumped on Khan, hitting him with uppercuts one after another in close until the referee stepped in and stopped the fight at 0:51 of the round.
It was an excellent stoppage from the referee Victor Loughlin, considering that Khan was getting pummeled by jackhammer uppercuts and clubbing shots at close range.
Khan’s legs were gone, and he could no longer escape Brook’s attacks at the end.
After the fight, Brook said he’d be interested in returning to the ring for a fight against Chris Eubank Jr. if he’s paid “millions.”
That might be the only real choice that Brook has to get that kind of money, as he’s already lost to the welterweight champions Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford.
Nothing but class & respect 👏@SpecialKBrook 🤝 @AmirKingKhan#KhanBrook | @Boxxer pic.twitter.com/mGn7urliVS
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) February 19, 2022
It was such an impressive performance from the 35-year-old Brook that it would be a shame to see him end his career with this fight.
“I don’t like Eubank Jr. We could fight Eubank. There are some big fights out there for me,” said Kell Brook to Sky Sports Boxing about his next move after stopping Khan on Saturday night.
“If the millions are out, I’ll fight,” Brook continued in setting the conditions up for him to return to the ring. “I’m a prizefighter.
“I’m going to sit down with my dad and my mom and see if I can carry on. I’m going, to be honest with you now, my mojo is back. We’re going to have to wait and see. I’m back, baby.
“I’m back on top now. I took Amir Khan out, just like I said I was going to. Tonight, the fans got to see a mega-fight, and I dealt with him,” said Brook.
“Looking that good, he obviously has got options now,” said promoter Ben Shalom about Kell Brook. “It’s up to him, but what a wonderful way to cap off a career.”
Brooks options for his next fight:
- Chris Eubank Jr
- Conor Benn
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
- Vergil Ortiz Jr
- Jermell Charlo
- Tim Tszyu
Conor Benn would be a possibility, but after the way Brook looked tonight, it’s doubtful that he or his promoter Eddie Hearn would agree to the fight.
“Listen, that fight can happen. I can beat Eubank,” said Brook to Fighthype. “We’re going to have to sit down and see what our next options are to see what kind of Benjamins, we’re talking. I love Conor Benn. I’ve got respect for his dad, but if that fight happens, it’s business.
“These young fighters coming up thinking they can beat the older school. I’m still the man, trust me.”