Brook – I’ll be the first to stop Lovemore N’dou

‘Special K’ vows to wow home Sheffield crowd on June 25

Kell Brook says he will be the first fighter to stop tough Australian Lovemore N’dou when the pair fight in Brook’s hometown of Sheffield on June 25.

Brook admits this is the ‘toughest test of his career so far’ but the 25 year-old is determined to put on a great show at the Hillsborough Leisure Centre and extend his unbeaten record to 24 fights as he continues his quest for a World Title.

N’dou’s credentials speak for themselves –the battle-hardened veteran of 62 fights (48 wins) and has never been stopped. The 39 year-old will ask plenty of questions of the talented Sheffield fighter, stepping out for the first time as a Sky Sports Saturday Night Fight Night headliner under his new promoters Matchroom Sport.

“N’dou been in with top, top names and never been stopped, he’s a tough and game champion,” said Brook. “It’s a great motivation for me as I want to be the first to stop him. It’s in Sheffield with my home fans roaring me on and I’m running past the venue every day thinking ‘on June 25 I’m going to have a sell-out show in there and I’m going to put on the best performance of my life’.”

It’s Brook’s first hometown fight since beating Ernie Smith in May 2005 in just the seventh pro date of his career. With the venue just down the road from Brook’s home, ‘Special K’ is promising local fans a great fight with plenty of action.

“I hope I stop him in the 12th round because I want to give the crowd what they have come to see,” said Brook. “There will be a lot of action and I’ll be chucking in a lot of shots and I want to hurt him, and if it goes 12 rounds then I know it’s going to be a great show because I don’t have boring fights.

“I train for 12 rounds in every fight but I’ve got more drive for this one because with N’dou he’s been in with big names and no-one’s really hurt him, so when I’m looking at that big hill, instead of taking the short track home I’m doing the long route and pushing myself to the limit.”

By the time June 25 comes around, it will have been over six months since his last fight, where he destroyed Philip Kotey inside two rounds at the Echo Arena in Liverpool to defend his WBO Inter-Continental title for the second time. Brook has since been stripped of that belt but is looking to the future and is aiming to show he can be a World class fighter and entertainer in the mould of fellow Sheffield star Prince Naseem Hamed.

“I’ve got a new lease of life now – I’ve signed with Matchroom Sport and Eddie Hearn and he’s saying good things to me so we’ve got a bright future ahead.

“I can be a Champion and a crowd-pleaser at the same time, I know I can. Brendan Ingle had me in the ring from 9 or 10 years-old and he gets you doing stuff that the crowd will love. I’ve got it all in my locker, it just hasn’t come out yet – but I think that will start when I fight N’dou and I go to the later rounds and you’ll see all different kinds of Kell Brook.”

Tickets for Kell Brook v Lovemore N’dou, plus a full undercard to be announced soon are available from Matchroom Sport priced £30 unreserved, £50 ringside and £80 VIP – to buy call Matchroom Sport on 01277 359900.