Kell Brook knocked out Mark DeLuca in seven rounds in his comeback to set up a tasty Battle of Britain with Liam Smith.
Brook was far too good for the limited DeLuca, even with 14 months of ring rust, and dominated the fight before finishing off the American with a simple left.
Former WBO light-middleweight champ Smith was ringside at Sheffield’s FlyDSA Arena to witness Brook’s successful return in his first fight since December 2018.
The two former world champs are promoted by Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn and are expected to clash on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s fight with Kubrat Pulev in June at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Smith, 31, who lost his WBO belt to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in 2016, said: “I would love a fight with Kell. I’d maybe like another fight first in April, but if not, I’ll be ready for Kell in June.”
(Image: Action Images via Reuters)
Brook, 33, grabbed the centre of the ring and imposed himself on former US Marine DeLuca from the first bell.
He won the first two rounds without having to do much before he went up through the gears in the third, hurting DeLuca with a couple of right hooks.
Brook sensed his opportunity and floored the American with a flurry of left and right hooks, which left his opponent with blood trickling down from his nose.
Brook boxed patiently in the fourth, waiting for his moment, and ended the round with a flurry, catching DeLuca with a left uppercut and right hook.
DeLuca offered little resistance, but the southpaw did land a left in the fifth before Brook again ended the round strongly.
DeLuca was gutsy and his face was a bloody mess by the sixth as Brook worked him over on the inside.
(Image: Action Images via Reuters)
DeLuca was out on his feet by the seventh and he failed to beat the count after one minute and 15 seconds of the round when he was floored by a jab from Brook.
On the co-feature, Yorkshire’s Terri Harper comfortably beat Eva Wahlstrom by a unanimous points decision to claim the Finn’s WBC super-featherweight title.
The unbeaten Harper from the village of Denaby dominated, flooring Wahlstrom with a straight right in the seventh round, to become the first British woman to win a major world title in the ring.
“I had a lot of pressure on me,” said an ecstatic Harper. “I’m 23 years old and I’ve just done this, I’ve made history.”
Meanwhile, Kid Galahad earned another shot at Josh Warrington, who handed him his only pro loss, when Claudio Marrero retired after eight rounds of their final eliminator for the Leeds fighter’s IBF featherweight title.
