Tony Bellew scores KO victory in cruiserweight debut, Kell Brook stakes his claim to a welterweight title

Kell Brook has faced a testing couple of years in and outside of the ring. Injuries and setbacks have been on the menu consistently for ‘Special K’. Having redeemed himself against Carson Jones in their rematch, and stopping Vyacheslav Senchenko in four rounds, Brook’s next assignment was Mexican fighter, Alvaro Robles, tonight in Liverpool. With a world title shot on the horizon, Brook would ideally deliver a special performance to reinforce his contender status.

Brook opened settings by working behind a steady accurate jab. The sturdy Mexican plodded forward eating a variety of shots. Brook was able to slip a couple of slick uppercuts through Robles’ guard. Robles began working ‘Special K’s body, but Brook halted any glimmer of success with some well placed combinations.

Rounds four through five played out in a similar fashion; Brook picking his spots, keeping a steady stream of jabs flowing. Robles enjoyed no meaningful success, landing clean shots few and far between.

Between rounds six and seven, it became apparent that the culmination of shots were adding up as Robles was breathing heavily on his stool. In round seven Brook shook Robles with two straight rights. Robles managed to survive a follow up onslaught and to his credit did find a response. In the eight–with Robles under heavy fire–the towel came in from the Mexican’s corner to call a halt to proceedings at 1:35 of the round.

On the cusp of another world title opportunity, Brook needed a special performance to reinforce his status as a contender. On his first outing outside his native Mexico, Alvaro Robles was a flat footed fighter with a limited skill set, a far cry from Porter or Malignaggi.

Never really stepping from his comfort zone, Brook cruised to the finish line. In a fight that played out smoothly, Brook never truly shone. Brook has cited a lack of motivation when faced with average opposition as the reason for a couple of below par performances.

Whilst tonight was a near perfect performance, an impressive showing when faced with a genuine contender would have been ideal when heading into the fight of his life. This summer Kell Brook will have the opportunity to live up to his ‘Special K’ moniker at the highest level.

The familiar sound of sirens ran through a gracious Echo arena to announce the return of Tony ‘Bomber’ Bellew. This past year had been a frustrating period on many levels for the Liverpool ‘Bomber.’ Bellew’s path to a world title shot had been partially obscured by one Isaac Chilemba, an obstacle that required two attempts to finally remove.

The Bomber landed in hostile territory in an attempt to bomb out ‘Superman’ Adonis Stevenson. With Bellew never truly gaining a hold on affairs, the big punching Stevenson stopped Bellew under a barrage which left Bellew unable to defend himself.

Tony Bellew returned to Liverpool to place his career under the microscope and decide on his next move. Citing a constant struggle to make the 175lbs weight limit, Bellew announced he would now move up to campaign in the cruiserweight division. Having suffered a first career stoppage, and on a run of disappointing performances, some questioned if Bellew’s punch resistance would hold out at cruiserweight or if he could carry his power shots 25lbs above his previous division.

Valery Brudov (41-4) was selected as the opponent to test Bellew on his cruiserweight debut for the vacant WBO International cruiserweight title. Bellew answered the opening bell off the back foot, snapping out the jab. Brudov pressing forward ate a healthy dose of solid jabs, coupled with the right hand behind it for good measure. In the second round, Bellew landed a powerful right hand down the pipe which put Brudov on his back with seconds remaining in the round.

Brudov answered the third round bell with his legs beneath him, having shook off the effects of the knockdown. Bellew looked to dig in hurtful punches, mixing shots up and downstairs. In the fourth Brundov began to find his range, working the body and slowly finding a home for his jab.

The fight began to simmer down in the fifth, with a last minute barrage from Bellew to seal the round. In the sixth, Bellew stepped on the gas again, landing a solid left handt that hurt Brudov. The ‘Bomber’ followed up with a right hand to drop Brudov a second time, again with seconds remaining in the round.

Brudov knowing something drastic was required, came off his stool intent to exchange with Bellew. Brudov nailed Bellew with a heavy right hand that almost took Bellew’s legs from beneath him. In the follow up barrage of shots, Brudov accidentally hit Bellew below the belt line, allowing Bellew vital seconds to shake off the effects of the heavy right he absorbed.

Rounds eight through eleven surprisingly lacked real meaningful action. Brudov abandoned the right hand, opting to plod forward with little real success. Bellew on his part was happy to take a round or two off, doing enough to keep Brudov at bay.

Heading into the final round, Brudov needed a knockout to secure a victory. In search of a knockout, Brudov walked straight onto a powerful Bellew left hook square on the button that closed the show at 2:42 of round twelve.

Putting aside the seventh round crisis that Tony Bellew faced in the fight, it was for the most part, a fairly impressive cruiserweight debut. Dropping the durable Brudov to the canvas three times, Bellew’s power has carried over into his new weight class.

Bellew also showed a more varied choice of shots tonight, and had enough gas to see out twelve rounds. Speaking after the fight at ringside, Bellew’s promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned a summer outing, followed by a world title shot. A couple of fights matched with upper echelon opposition may be a more realistic option. Time will tell if a third time will be the charm for Bellew and a world title shot.