World Weekend Boxing Roundup: Brook, Selby, Khan Win

It was a big weekend for British boxers and we kick off this report with results from a massive lineup that occurred at London’s cavernous O2 Arena.

IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook, 35-0 (24), engaged early on in a test of skills with crafty southpaw challenger Frankie Gavin, 22-2 (13), but the challenger’s landing punches had no effect on Brook, whose efforts started to shake his rival as early as the second round.

As the bout wore on, Gavin was starting to show signs of weakening from the stronger Brook’s punishment and the end came quickly at 2:51 of the sixth frame when Gavin was no longer able to adequately defend himself.

The big success story on the show was at featherweight as Wales’ Lee Selby, 21-1 (9), produced a brilliant performance to stop IBF featherweight titlist Evgeny Gradovich, 19-1-1 (9), on an eighth round technical decision.

Selby handled the heavy pressure of Gradovich by using great footwork and mixing up his punches, landing jabs, lead rights and uppercuts while largely avoiding the constant throws of the Russian.

By the midway point of the contest, Gradovich had been hurt and was getting beaten up but it was a bad cut from a head clash alongside his right eye that ended matters in the eighth round.

Local lightweight Kevin Mitchell, 39-3 (29), wasn’t so lucky in his quest for a world title as the Londoner was stopped by WBC lightweight champion Jorge Linares, 39-3 (23), at 2:57 of the 10th round.

Mitchell was in command for most of the fight, outboxing Linares and flooring the Venezuelan in the fifth round but the champion began to take control in the later rounds as the challenger tired and suffered a badly swollen and cut left eyebrow from a head clash.

The action was waved off when Linares was battering Mitchell along the ropes, ending the world title hopes of the brave West Ham man, who had put on a career-best performance.

Heavyweight Anthony Joshua, 13-0 (13), made a mockery of the pre-fight claims of opponent Kevin Johnson, 29-6-1 (14), that he would expose the former Olympic hero as Joshua went right through the American in two rounds.

Johnson attempted to hold the taller Joshua off with footwork and a jab but the giant Londoner gained proximity to the visitor and reeled off damaging combinations that left the American on the canvas twice in the first round.

The second round was no better for Johnson, who had never been stopped, as Joshua immediately went to work, battering his adversary until the bout was halted at 1:22 of the frame.

On Friday in America, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, British welterweight Amir Khan, 31-3 (19), won a back and forth battle with Chris Algieri, 20-2 (8), for the WBC Silver belt.

Algieri gave Khan all he could handle and the fight seemed much closer than the scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 115-113 would indicate.

On the undercard, Javier Fortuna, 28-0-1 (20), captured the vacant WBA super feather crown by posting a UD over Bryan Vasquez, 34-2 (18), by scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 116-112.