'King Kell, Brook wins British title by Kevin Taylor Jun 15th 2008

Sheffield's Kell Brook won the vacant British welterweight title last night at the York Hall when he stopped Barrie Jones in the seventh round and then became involved in a slanging match with rival Tony Doherty after the final bell. Brook dominated the fight from the first bell picking off Jones with his sharp jabs and snapping the Welshman's head back with some good shots. The impressive Brook who was formerly trained by the Ingle's but is now with David Coldwell who seems to have brought him on a lot, throws shots from unorthodox angles much like his boxing hero Nassem Hamed. Jones was on the receiving end of all manner of punches, and deserves credit for the way he took the shots and he gamely kept coming back for more. Referee Vann looked set to jump in on a couple of occasions in the fifth and sixth rounds a Brook started to pick off the Welshman, but just as it looked like he was going to stop it Jones would throw a shot back. Jones was halted on his feet after a barrage of unanswered punches forced Vann to intervene. Jones, who slipped to his second successive loss, finished the fight with his right eye closed. As soon as the fight was over a watching Tony Doherty, who beat Jones on points for the Welsh title, jumped into the ring and exchanged angry words with Brook and his trainer Dave Coldwell before being pushed away by security. Doherty later said that he was told to 'f off' by Brook. Whether the Welshman will be next in line for Brook remains to be seen but if he is the added spice of their confrontation in the ring here will add to the fight. Former champion Kevin McIntyre will have a strong case after he was stripped of the title in controversial circumstances before the fight after twice pulling out injured of scheduled fights with Brook. After the fight Brook, now 17-0 (10), said: "I'm so proud to win this belt. I can't wait to go home and show it to my mum. "I've had so many opponents pull out in the past, but hopefully now I've got this title that won't happen. "I'll defend it against anybody, whether it's McIntyre, Doherty, whoever they want me to." I never thought I would ever be able to write that I saw someone trying not to fall asleep while watching an Anthony Small fight but last night a row behind me a lad was struggling to keep his eyes open, although it may have been more to do with too much beer than the boxing I suppose but Small wasn't at his entertaining best. Opponent George Katsimpas tried to outdo Small on the ringwalk as he came in wearing what looked like a ice-hockey type mask but Small was not to be outdone, dancing to the ring with his normal 'scream' mask on. For much of the fight Small didn't do much apart from throw single punches, former kick-boxer Katsimpas was as game as they come working away behind a high guard but he was a class below Small. When the stoppage finally came it was impressive, two hooks to the body, just below the rib cage, leaving Katsimpas gasping for air on the canvas and referee Bob Williams decided that enough was enough. The win took Small to 19-1 and he wants a shot at British champion Ryan Rhodes, who was watching from ringside. In the fight of the night between two unbeaten heavyweights, Derek Chisora stopped Sam Sexton in the sixth and last round of an absorbing contest. Sexton had the better jab of the two, but Chisora connected with the power shots, particularly his left hooks and when around ten consecutive blows landed on Sexton the bout was halted. Chisora, the 2006 ABA champion, moves to 5-0 with the win, while Sexton drops to 7-1 but most wouldn't mind seeing a rematch between the two who were generously applauded at the end of the fight. York Hall was like a little Norfolk last night with Sam Sexton's fans and the 'Walsh Farmy Army' in town to watch their heroes, but the whole 'Fighting Walsh Brothers' left me feeling absolutely disgusted by their seeming lack of respect to their opponents. Older brother Michael, the smallest of the three, was the worst of the bunch, showboating from the first bell and taunting his opponent Fouad El Bahji. He's meant to be a bit special but it would help if he stopped the act and actually threw a punch or two. One incident left a real bitter taste in my mouth when the young Frenchman offered his glove to apologise only to be whacked by the young upstart from Cromer. In the end the fight finished in weird fashion with the Frenchman quitting after what looked like a slip, he seemed to be saying he had hurt his jaw. Walsh moves to 3-0 with all three wins coming by way of stoppage in the third round. Walsh is very much the Hamed clone but without the skills and he'll obviously fall into the same category of love him or hate him, on last night's performance I am very much in the second camp at this time, hopefully he'll learn that he won't win many fans from the really boxing purists with displays like that. Brother Liam went in with teak tough Johnny Greaves and also played up to the crowd with showboating, but his task was not as easy as his older brothers as although his record may not be the best in the world Greaves never takes a step backwards. Walsh showed some skills off in some parts of the fight but seemed more content to play up to the crowd, although Greaves also played a part in this. The end came in the last round when a crunching left hand to the body took the wind out of Greaves and he sank to the canvas. Referee Bob Williams didn't bother taking up the count. The last of the Walsh boys, Ryan, ended the show, maybe not a great idea as his supporters, had been drinking all evening by this stage, some were staggering in the Dundee Arms at 5.30!, there was no showboating from the third brother who just went about his job against another regular to this country Romanian Gheorghe Ghiompirica. Walsh stuck to the boxing and won a convincing 40-36 decision from referee Bob Williams. Grant Skehill extended his winning record to 6-0 as he out-pointed Duncan Cottier. Skehill was given the nod by referee Richie Davies, taking a well-earned 40-37 decision over durable Cottier. Eddie Corcoran, brother of Billy, won a 59-55 points decision over David Wakefield in the show opener. He moves to 5-0 with the win, his first six rounder. Hatfield's Tommy Saunders stopped Mikhail Bamballra with five seconds of the first round left. Bamballra appeared to have suffered a broken nose before the fight was waved off by Richie Davies with the Pole taking more punishment. Cheered on by big brother Kevin and belatedly by his mum, Vinny Mitchell out-worked regular import Vladimir Borov over four twos to take a 40-36 decision.

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