26-0 (18 KO) 49-5-2 (16 KO) Nickname The Special One | Date 17 March 2012 Boxer Kell Brook | |
Venue Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield, England Title(s) on the line IBF & WBA International and Inter-continental Welterweight Unification WBA Inter-continental Champion IBF International Welterweight Champion | ||
'The War of the Roses' was a boxing match that took place at the Motorpoint Arena between Kell Brook and Matthew Hatton on March 17, 2012. The fight was for the WBA Intercontinental welterweight title, at the time possessed by Brook, and the IBF International Welterweight title, held by Hatton. The fight was named after The War Of The Roses civil wars, since Brook hailed from Sheffield, and Hatton from Manchester. Kell Brook won by virtue of a lopsided unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight 119:108, 118:109 and 119:108.
Contents
Pre-Fight
Matthew Hatton had been on the receiving end of a brave points loss to WBC super-welterweight Mexican Saul Alvarez a year previously, Hatton, once the undefeated European Champion was aiming for another shot at a world title.
Kell Brook on the other hand, had just beaten Luis Galarza on his American debut, and was fighting Matthew Hatton for a chance at a world title shot, or a fight with rival Amir Khan.
The Khan fight has been talked about for a long time and that would be a mega fight. I've got his number and I think timing beats speed.
The fight was first proposed when a drunken Matthew Hatton phoned Kell Brook claiming he wanted to fight him. They arranged the fight two weeks later.
The Fight
Kell Brook dominated the fight from the first round, controlling the pace from the start and only allowing Hatton to punch in the clinch. In round 7 Brook knocked Hatton down with a straight punch. Hatton took a standing 8 count, but never looked like coming back into the fight. In round 11 Kell Brook winked at Hattons older brother Ricky Hatton on his way back to the corner, aggravating the former world champion. When the fight ended, Brook won by virtue of a unanimous decision, with the scorecards 119:108, 118:109 and 119:108. Hatton said of the fight "He's the best fighter have ever fought, and I'd put Saul Alvarez in that category."
Post-Fight
Eddie Hearn, the boss of the Matchroom promotional organisation, targeted a fight with Amir Khan, saying, "It's probably one of the few fights that could bring back Pay-Per-View television back to Sky. Will Amir Khan take it? I wouldn't imagine so." Afterwards, when asked of the prospect of facing Amir Khan, Brook said, "Of course I want Khan, I've been banging on about Amir Khan, but IL'm going to do my own thing and if that fight happens, it happens, and I'll smash him."