Even though the guys aren’t in their prime.
Amir Khan and Kell Brook did meet. Seventeen years later (Kell says an incredible seventeen), after hundreds of reproaches, big words and unspoken promises, the British came to each other in the ring.
The bout surprisingly turned out great. Even the final point was not upsetting. Because here it was already a personal showdown, and the sporting legacy was going on somewhere back there. And everyone felt calmer.
Han and Brooke put on a very chipper fight. It worked out great.
Some fights only need to be done on time or never. This is especially true when two undefeated athletes meet, but one has already passed his peak and the other hasn’t. It’s not fair when the fight is not organized on time – one automatically has the advantage and the fans never get answers to their questions.
Some fights don’t need to be staged at all, even though it seems like the athletes are fighters of the same generation. Because they really aren’t. When one peaks seven or eight years earlier than the other, for example. Then they shouldn’t fight at all, because the first has beaten all his own, and the second has to face his own. You can do fights, but you shouldn’t expect anyone to get the answers to who’s better.
And there are fights that are even better done later than earlier. Because circumstances in boxing are such that two undefeated tops are not always a good fight. And not always two life-beaten fighters is a bad one. Khan vs. Brook is a third option.
Seventeen or ten years ago, Kell would have been the clear favorite to take down his opponent extremely quickly. And here was the risk that both would start being cautious-because there was so much at stake. By then Amir was still a very promising kid with one quick knockout loss and that was it. Brook was a machine that ate whatever food was tossed at him. In the end, Khan could have tried to just outrun his vis-a-vis, holding out somewhere out there on the perimeter and aggravating only occasionally.
This time, though, it was very different. And largely due to the fact that both had simply nothing to lose. Khan was falling into such knockdowns that talk of his chin was boring. Brook has had his facial bone and jaw broken, he’s lost to two major tops of his division and one not of his. Boxing for fun and shutting down personal conflicts – what could be better?
The pleasure poured in from the first seconds. Amir began to press the stronger and tougher opponent. He approached, punched, withdrew, repeated. Brook just couldn’t keep up with his pace – his opponent was moving too fast. It wasn’t until the end of the round that Kell seemed to be on to something. He couldn’t reach with his right hand, but continued his combination with a left side jab – very accurate right to the chin.
Khan immediately began his dance, the audience gasped in anticipation, but Amir recovered quickly. He even showed his opponent “Look, I’m fine”.
The second round turned out to be just as tense, only Kell hit a little more times – twice. Khan again took a lead, but let’s be honest, Amir was definitely better than his opponent in many ways, and definitely better than what the neutral referee, whose notes were displayed on the screen, thought.
The last truly competitive round was the third. Khan was still trying to confront his opponent. Keeping it close, countering with jabs, power punches, and wrestling in the clinch as soon as danger appeared. The danger was getting bigger and bigger.
In the fourth round it became clear why. It’s just that Brook had his gun on. If the previous rounds had seen a lot of his power flying the wrong way, here the hits began. Khan’s head wasn’t ready for it.
Amir was storming, trying to survive and respond, but the caliber was not enough to stand up to Kell. It all continued into the fifth round and ended in the sixth.
Many immediately spoke of a premature stoppage, but it seems obvious here – Amir didn’t fight back at all. He just clinched and went with his back to the front. To continue, for a brutal knockout? The Brit has been in them too many times already.
The referee stopped the fight, taking Brook by TKO in the sixth round. The result is expected: Kell and Amir are still the same. After the fight, by the way, they communicated adequately – the fight apparently ended.
