Former welterweight ruler Kell Brook struggled to overcome a tame opponent in Michael Zerafa, all but ending his chances of fighting Amir Khan.
Labored at times, Brook seemed a world away from what would be a massive UK scrap with Khan as ‘The Special One’ took a drab decision on the cards.
Despite looking capable of getting Zerafa out of there early on, Brook faded badly against the Aussie. The cards should have been closer than 11-1, 10-2 and 9-3.
Khan had been hoping Brook would put together a run of victories against worthy opposition in order to generate Pay-Per-View interest in a grudge match.
The truth is, Brook is one of few Matchroom stars who haven’t been able to justify PPV status. Wins against Sergey Rabchenko and now Zerafa have surely done little to convince Khan otherwise.
Brook is 38-2 as a pro, but has just one solid victory on his record in Shawn Porter.
As Khan contemplates facing one of the world’s best in Terence Crawford, Brook has little prospect of landing a meaningful title fight.
The WBA gave the bout eliminator status, meaning ‘regular’ champ Brian Castano could be the next target.
A dangerous mission, Brook is staring down a blind alley as his career continues to drift into an abyss since damaging losses to Gennady Golovkin and Errol Spence.
Undercard results:
Jono Carroll began brightly and seemed on his way to an early night against Frenchman Guillermo Frenois.
Taking the pace on round by round, Carroll racked up the rounds before the tide turns approaching the mid-rounds.
Frenois came on strong in a clash which saw both fighters cut, although the scorecards meant both boxers are forced to do it again.
Judges carded 115-113 either way, with the final scoring 114-114.
Liverpool’s Anthony Fowler proved far too strong for Jose Carlos Paz, ending the bout midway through the first round.
A crunching body shot to the solar plexus did the damage as Paz took a full ten count, with Fowler now 9-0.
Kid Galahad won convincingly on his return to the UK with a wide points triumph over Bryan Mairena.
The Dominic Ingle-trained fighter won every round to build on his Boston decision over Toka Kahn-Clary.
Prior to the Sky cameras rolling, Qais Ashfaq chalked up a fourth win of his pro career by stopping Jay Carney in five.
Anthony Tomlinson recorded the fourth stoppage of his career as the welterweight made it nine straight victories. Tomlinson halted Innocent Anyanwu in the fifth.
Lightweight Terri Harper took Feriche Mashaury out in the second session as she took her C.V to 5-0.
The opening contest saw Callum Hancock improve to 9-0 with a comprehensive four-round points win over Ivan Nikolov. Hancock won every round.
