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Kell Brook vs. Frankie Gavin

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Rule Britannia
Date30 May 2015
VenueThe O2 Arena, Greenwich, London
Title(s) on the lineIBF welterweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer United Kingdom Kell Brook United Kingdom Frankie Gavin
Nickname "The Special One" "Funtime"
Hometown Sheffield, South Yorkshire Birmingham, West Midlands
Pre-fight record 34–0 (23 KO) 22–1 (13 KO)
Age 29 years 29 years, 8 months
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 146+12 lb (66 kg) 146 lb (66 kg)
Style Orthodox Southpaw
Recognition IBF
Welterweight Champion
The Ring
No. 1 Ranked Welterweight
TBRB
No. 4 Ranked Welterweight
IBF
No. 2 Ranked Welterweight
Result
Brook defeated Gavin via 6th round TKO

Kell Brook vs. Frankie Gavin, billed as Rule Britannia, was a professional boxing match contested on 30 May 2015, for the IBF Welterweight championship.[1]

Background

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After making the first defence of his IBF welterweight belt against Jo Jo Dan and after being unable to attract Amir Khan, Kell Brook agreed to face former British and Commonwealth champion, Frankie Gavin.[2][3]

This was the first all British World Welterweight title bout for more than 100 years, since Matt Wells scored an 20-round decision victory over Tom McCormick at Sydney Stadium in 1914.

The fights

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Undercard

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Ryder facing Blackwell

Dave Ryan survived two knockdowns before scoring a 9th-round TKO in his second bout with John Wayne Hibbert. Scott Cardle won the British lightweight title after a unanimous points decision over Craig Evans, Nick Blackwell upset John Ryder to win the British middleweight title and former world champion Nathan Cleverly scored a 24-second knockout of journeyman Tomas Man.

Gradovich vs Selby

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In the first of three world title bouts, unbeaten IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich faced Lee Selby. Selby consistently outboxed Gradovich throughout the bout, before a clash of heads left Gradovich cut by the right eye in the seventh. During the next round referee Deon Dwarte called for the ringside doctor to inspect the eye and the bout was quickly waved off. As the clash was accidental, the bout went to the scorecard who awarded Selby victory by unanimous technical decision with scores 79–73, 80-72 and 79–73.[4]

Selby would dedicate the victory to his late brother Michael.

Linares vs Mitchell

[edit]
Linares in action against Mitchell

Selby's win was followed by WBC lightweight champion Jorge Linares making the first defence of his belt against Kevin Mitchell, who was having his third shot at a world title.[5][6]

Linares was dropped in the fifth round with a right-left combination. By the eight Mitchell was badly cut above the left eye which had closed up. Mitchell was dropped in the tenth with a right hand, he beat the count but the referee stopped the bout. The cut was due to a clash of heads in round four, which also opened a cut on the side of Linares' head. At the time of stoppage, Mitchell was ahead on two of the judges scorecards at 82–88 and 84–86. The third judge had it even at 85–85.[7][8]

Joshua vs Johnson

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In the chief support, 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua faced the durable former world title challenger Kevin Johnson. Joshua had stopped all 12 of his previous opponents within 3 rounds, while Johnson was on a run of just 1 win in his last 6 bouts, but this included going the distance with the likes of Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora.[9]

Joshua would dominate Johnson dropping him through the ropes in the first round. Johnson beat the count but a sustained barrage in the second round prompted the referee to wave the bout off. This was marked the first time Johnson had ever been stopped.[10]

Steve Bunce, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live said in the aftermath: "We've seen the future and the future is Anthony Joshua, if we were watching this in the early hours of the morning from the United States we'd be getting very excited. I don't want the post mortem to say Johnson was too old and too fat. I thought he would go the distance. The look on Johnson's face was one of shock."

Main Event

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Gavin used his awkward style to cause Brook some issues in the opening rounds, especially with a couple of sharp right-hand counters in the fourth, although Brook was largely in control of the action. However Brook's hard shots began taking their toll and by the fifth the challenger's face was beginning to mark up. Towards the end of the sixth round, Brook landed right hand followed by a pair of uppercuts which prompted the referee stepped in to end the fight.[11][12]

Aftermath

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Plans for a summer or autumn bout with Khan didn't come together and Brook return to the ring in March 2016 against Kevin Bizier.[13]

Undercard

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Confirmed bouts:[14]

Winner Loser Weight division/title belt(s) disputed Result
United Kingdom Anthony Joshua United States Kevin Johnson WBC International Heavyweight (10 rounds) 2nd-round TKO.
Venezuela Jorge Linares United Kingdom Kevin Mitchell WBC World Lightweight 10th-round TKO.
United Kingdom Lee Selby Russia Evgeny Gradovich IBF World Featherweight 8th round TD.
United Kingdom Nathan Cleverly Czech Republic Tomas Man Light Heavyweight (8 rounds) 1st-round TKO.
United Kingdom Nick Blackwell United Kingdom John Ryder British Middleweight 7th-round TKO.
United Kingdom Scott Cardle United Kingdom Craig Evans British Lightweight Unanimous decision.
United Kingdom Dave Ryan United Kingdom John Wayne Hibbert Commonwealth & WBC International Light welterweight 9th-round TKO.
United Kingdom Lucien Reid Slovakia Elemir Rafael Featherweight (4 rounds) 4th-round TKO.

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
 United Kingdom Sky Sports

References

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  1. ^ "Kell Brook vs. Frankie Gavin". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  2. ^ Press Association (10 April 2015). "Kell Brook to defend IBF welterweight title against Frankie Gavin". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  3. ^ Press Association (28 May 2015). "Kell Brook primed for second world title defence against Frankie Gavin". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Evgeny Gradovich vs. Lee Selby". boxrec.com/. BoxRec. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Jorge Linares vs Kevin Mitchell: Mitchell so confident a third tilt at". The Independent. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  6. ^ "Linares to defend title on Brit Mitchell's turf". ESPN.com. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Kevin Mitchell defeated by lightweight WBC champion Jorge Linares". Sky Sports. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  8. ^ Ben Dirs (30 May 2015). "Lee Selby wins world title but Kevin Mitchell misses out". BBC Sport. O2 Arena, London: BBC. Retrieved 5 April 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  9. ^ "Anthony Joshua: Eddie Hearn tips heavyweight for stardom". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Anthony Joshua vs. Kevin Johnson". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  11. ^ Ben Dirs (31 May 2015). "Kell Brook beats Frankie Gavin to defend IBF welterweight title". bbc.co.uk. O2 Arena, London: BBC. Retrieved 5 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  12. ^ Sachin Nakrani (30 May 2015). "Kell Brook proves his stature by overpowering Frankie Gavin". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  13. ^ Nate Loop (30 May 2015). "Kell Brook vs. Frankie Gavin: Winner, Recap and Reaction". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  14. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Kell Brook's bouts
30 May 2015
Succeeded by
Preceded by
vs. Bogdan Mitic
Frankie Gavin's bouts
30 May 2015
Succeeded by
vs. Ivo Gogosevic