Kell Brook’s courage in taking a knee against Spence was exemplary

Kell Brook's courage in taking a knee against Spence was exemplary

The criticism levelled at Kell Brook in the wake of his 11th round KO defeat to Errol Spence is a stark reminder that boxing is and always has been a sport of extremes, wherein the very best and the very worst of human nature is exposed. Courage, respect, resilience, and skill is offset in boxing by cowardice, venality, brutality, and cruelty. Typically the former are expressed inside the ring on the part of the fighters, while the latter is the domain of the sport’s fans and spectators, many of whom take the opportunity, when watching a fight, to give expression to their own lack of achievements, happiness, or self respect by taking delight in misfortune to befall a given fighter whose only crime is to have dedicated his life to the hardest sport there is and achieve a level of fame, success, and admiration conversant with that dedication.

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Floyd Mayweather: Conor McGregor is a helluva stand up fighter

Floyd Mayweather: Conor McGregor is a helluva stand up fighter

Though he has not yet put pen to paper and signed on for the fight, semi-retired superstar Floyd Mayweather is doing his utmost to sell his impending match-up with MMA star Conor McGregor (McGregor has signed on, Floyd is expected to do so soon).

The 40 year old all-time great was speaking on Eminem’s SiriusXM channel shade 45, and he praised McGregor’s stand up boxing and fighting skills. “Money” pointed out that McGregor – who he will fight under boxing rules (if the fight goes ahead, and it looks as though it will) – has never lost “standing up.”

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Amir Khan-Kell Brook: Still a great fight? Still 50/50?

Amir Khan-Kell Brook: Still a great fight? Still 50/50?

Was it just me, or was Amir Khan struggling, at least a little bit, to hide the glee, the sense of satisfaction he had on Saturday night, when his long-time verbal tormentor/possible ring rival Kell Brook was badly beaten by Errol Spence Junior?

Khan, along with Tony Bellew (who also provided punditry duties for Sky Sports Box-Office) was critical of Brook’s decision to “quit” against the unbeaten, sizzling southpaw; the knee Brook opted to take in that 11th round, his eye in pain, his sight almost gone, being pretty much vilified by both fighters. Debate has raged since Saturday’s great fight: is Brook a quitter, or was he doing what anyone else with such a nasty, potentially life-changing injury would have done in the heat of battle (heat, we must remember, no armchair critic has ever come anywhere close to experiencing)?

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Is Errol Spence Junior the best welterweight in the world?

Is Errol Spence Junior the best welterweight in the world?

The scary thing about new IBF welterweight ruler Errol Spence Junior is we might not have seen him at anything approaching his absolute best yet. The new champ courtesy of his 11th round TKO win over Kell Brook, Spence says he felt sluggish due to inactivity, giving himself only a B-minus for his display in Sheffield.

Spence, despite his own self criticism, sure looked good. Fast, his blur of a right jab especially laser-like, powerful and, we now know, possessing a good chin, Spence looked every bit like his nickname; “The Truth.” We have a new star in the talent-rich welterweight division, that much is certain – but is Spence the best 147 pounder right now?

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Orlando Salido gets off the floor to stop late sub Aristides Perez; return with Lomachenko still possible for this year

Orlando Salido gets off the floor to stop late sub Aristides Perez; return with Lomachenko still possible for this year

Proving once again how he is never, ever in a dull fight, Mexican warrior Orlando Salido stopped late sub Aristides Perez last night in Sonora, Mexico. The teak-tough veteran forced Perez – a late replacement for original foe Amphon Suriyo, who reportedly encountered visa problems – to remain on his stool at the start of the 8th round.

Salido is now 44-14-3(31), while Perez is now 30-10-2(16).

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The Truth hurts: Should Kell Brook really be called a quitter?

The Truth hurts: Should Kell Brook really be called a quitter?

It’s one of the harshest insults that can be thrown at a fighter: that of him being a quitter. Though every fighter who steps into the ring deserves immense respect, it is still considered a let down, unforgivable even, if a hero, a fighter fans have paid money to see go to war, quits during the action.

Right now, former IBF welterweight champ Kell Brook is on the receiving end, with many fans, and fellow fighters, hurling the quitter tag at him. Brook, badly busted up around the left eye, opted to take a knee in the 11th round of his thrilling fight with new king Errol Spence Junior, and though Brook says he simply could not see in that torrid round, there seem to be few people willing to cut him much slack.

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Errol Spence TKOs Kell Brook

Errol Spence TKOs Kell Brook

Undefeated welterweight Errol Spence Jr. dethroned defending champion Kell Brook and won the IBF Welterweight World Championship with an 11th round TKO (1:47) in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Saturday in front of 27,000 raucous fans at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, England.

Spence, (22-0, 19 KOs), who with this victory became the first American to dethrone an Englishman on British soil in nearly a decade, executed a brilliant game plan to strip Brook, (31-2, 25 KOs), of his belt before his hometown crowd.

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Results: Groves stops Chudinov, wins WBA title

Results: Groves stops Chudinov, wins WBA title

Tonight in Sheffield, in a great, incredibly fast-paced action fight, George Groves became a world champion at the fourth time of asking, stopping a very tough and game Fedor Chudinov in the 6th round. Groves really did hit Chudinov with absolutely everything in the 6th, giving the referee no choice but to dive in and call a halt.

The official time was 1:14 of the sixth and Groves improved to 26-3(19). Russia’s Chudinov, in being stopped for the first time as a pro, is now 14-2(10).

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Results: Brook QUITS! Spence wins

Results: Brook QUITS! Spence wins

Errol Spence Jr. (22-0, 19 KOs) put in a workmanlike performance in wearing down Kell “Special K” Brook (36-2, 25 KOs) in stopping him in the 11th round to take his IBF welterweight title from him at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, England. Brook quit on in the 11th after taking knee for the second time in the fight.

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Lenroy Thomas wins close 12 round decision over David Allen

Lenroy Thomas wins close 12 round decision over David Allen

Tonight on the big Sheffield bill, Jamaica’s Lenroy Thomas boxed his way to a very close, even debatable 12 round split decision win over crowd favourite David Allen. Winning by scores of 115-114 twice, the third judge scoring it 115-113 for Allen, Thomas won the vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title.

Now 21-4(10) the 32 year old southpaw boxed on the backfoot throughout, using his nice right jab as well as his sharp counter punching skills. Allen, now 11-2-1(8) was fighting his usual trundle-forward fight, forcing Thomas to work hard and a good number of people – Sky Sports pundit Carl Froch included – felt the 25 year old did more work and was deserving of the verdict.

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