Kell Brook re-entered the win column in his Junior Middleweight debut, stopping Sergey Rabchenko inside 2 punishing rounds in Sheffield, England. Brook, who is coming off back-to-back defeats to Gennady Golovkin in 2016 and Errol Spence Jr in May, now improves to 37 wins, 2 defeats, 26 knockouts. Rabchenko, making his eighth appearance on British soil, meanwhile falls to 29 wins, 3 defeats, 22 knockouts.
The short-lived beatdown was entirely dominated by the former IBF Welterweight champ, with Brook quickly outshining his foe in the skills department, landing meaty, accurate, head-snapping punches. Then, in the 2nd stanza, Brook caught and rocked his man before patiently walking him down, blasting Ranchenko’s chin with powerful singular shots until a pair of buckled legs gave way. Rabchenko, dazed and in serious peril, managed to beat the count, but was wisely saved by the referee.
Meanwhile, Gavin McDonnell (19-1-2, 5 KO) outpointed Gamal Yafai in their lively Junior Featherweight encounter in the chief support. Yafai (14-1, 7 KO) gave a game, brave effort, but was conclusively beaten. Official tallies were 116-112 (twice) and 117-113, while BB saw the action at 117-111. McDonnell was simply the more dynamic, superior operator tonight, scoring throughout the twelve-rounder with his longer levers, and wearing down Yafai in the championship rounds.
So what’s next for Brook? Well, there’s plenty of flavour in the Junior Middleweight Top 10, with not much light between the guys at the top end. Erislandy Lara currently leads the pack, closely followed by Jermell Charlo, Jarrett Hurd, and finally Sadam Ali, the division newcomer who turned heads by ruining Miguel Cotto’s retirement party in December. So it’s a case of ‘big risk-big reward’ in that Top 5 deep end, especially against Charlo, a technical viper who looked formidable wiping out Charles Hatley and Erickson Lubin last year.
I’ve a good feeling that we’re going to see Brook steer towards a domestic challenge beforehand, however. And former WBO titlist Liam Smith (BB’s No.6) could be on that list. That would allow for those bigger fights to marinate nicely, and, in fairness, Brook vs Smith doesn’t sound like an awful matchup. Chime in with your own thoughts on Kell Brook’s move to 154-pounds and how he shapes up against his biggest threats.
