Brook, Ryan Rhodes, Eddie Hearn: Quotes and Notes

By Terence Dooley

Ryan Rhodes was ringside for Kell Brook’s decision win over Lovemore N’dou at Sheffield’s Hillsborough Leisure Centre on Saturday night.  Rhodes lost a world title challenge to Saul Alvarez in Mexico last weekend.  However, ‘The Spice Boy’ believes he shared the ring with a future great.

“I saw him on the night and just thought he was absolutely massive.  From the weigh in to getting in the ring, he looked two weights above me.  But I believe I was beaten by a superstar in the making.  He will box for more world titles and win.  He’ll also box for titles up in weight and win those,” enthused Rhodes.

“For a twenty-year-old to stick to a game plan and box on the back foot like that was impressive.  I expected him to come and try to blast me out but he counter punched and did to me what I wanted to do to him.  I wanted to draw him onto my counter shots but he beat me like [Marco Antonio] Barrera beat Naz [Hamed], boxing off the back foot.  He did really well.”

He added: “Alvarez is a strong kid.  When he put four or five shots together the final shots were just as powerful as the opening shots which surprised me.  The Mexicans were fantastic to me.  Alvarez was very polite afterwards and I wish him well.

Rhodes was stopped at 0:48 of the twelfth round.  As per EBU rules, his title is now vacant and the 32-year-old will have to notch up a W before he can contest his former belt.  Rhodes wants to be back in action as soon as possible in order to go for his old crown.

“I felt fantastic in the fight.  He didn’t bash me up for twelve rounds, he was just better than me in certain ways and boxed better than I expected.  I still consider myself number one in Europe and want an eight rounder before going for my old title,” confirmed the 45-5 (31) boxer.

Kell, whose birth name is Ezekiel, showed maturity, great shot selection and a dash of defensive naivety in his win over Lovemore – taking a few winging right hands en route to the 119-110 (twice), 118-111 victory. 

Eddie Hearn, who promotes Brook, believes that they undersold Kell prior to the fight and should have booked a bigger venue as the Sheffield fans queued around the block to get in; there were also plenty of last minute ticket requests.

“People said that Kell was a great fighter but he didn’t sell tickets.  Well we’ve seen that this is absolute bollocks,” Hearn opined.  “I wish I had not listened to that because we could have had a bigger venue.  Next time it will be a bigger venue with even more people behind him.  We’ll work on a few routes for him now we have the WBA and WBO rankings.

“I half wanted it to go twelve rounds.  Early on, Kell wanted to really get into the fight and hit N’dou with great shots.  He’s not fought anyone with Lovemore’s class – perfect opponent, perfect type of fight and perfect for his future.

“Kell took too many shots but he is still learning.  He has only had 24 fights and has fought mostly sub-standard opponents.  He has not fought in Sheffield since 2005, which is an absolute scandal.  We’ll move to a bigger venue for the next fight and keep building him.”

Matthew Hatton is Brook’s main domestic rival, with Hearn refusing to rule out a British showdown with ‘Magic’ should the numbers add up.  “Matthew Hatton is a fight that people want but it will have to be for something meaningful,” insisted Hearn, who hopes to guide Kell to a welterweight world title within the next year.

Brook is 24-0 (16), 25-years-old and highly rated; the Sheffield starlet now has twelve rounds under his belt, telling me that the win over Lovemore will hold him in good stead ahead of bigger challenges.

“I knew it was going to be a twelve round fight.  It shows me where I am in my career and little things I’m doing wrong.  I’ve been stagnant but know that Eddie can produce the title shots,” beamed Brook, he also had a message of support for David Haye.

“I’ll be rooting for Haye to knock Wlad [Klitschko] out and think he will.”

As for Lovemore, Brook believes that the 39-year-old, mahogany tough African taught him one or two things about survival during their 36 minutes of action.

“I wanted to just try little different things because I’ve never been past seven rounds.  I think I took his shots well, always knew where I were in the fight and they didn’t bother me too much.  It was a good learning experience,” stressed the contender.

“I’ve never been twelve rounds before.  I’ve done it in the gym but never in the fight but now know what it is about.  Lovemore knows every move in the book, he’s had nearly forty more fights than I’ve had, more knockouts than I’ve had fights and is experienced, he knows how to survive and did a good job of that tonight.

“I just take every fight as it comes.  Eddie has got it all in hand.  Whatever he comes up with will be the right move for me.  We know we’ve got an audience here and know we can ping more tickets out next time.  People in Sheffield love their boxing and I’m glad to bring it back home to them.”

Brook’s move from Frank Warren Promotions to Matchroom prompted a fair bit of dialogue between Warren, Hearn and Brook’s camp yet the Sheffield stylist believes he made the right move at the right time.

“I hadn’t boxed for six months.  I had put a bit of weight on and next time I’ll be right on the weight coming in and you will see an improvement in me.  I have got a wicked relationship with Eddie and Matchroom and know I’ve made the right move.  I’ve got Adidas behind me, sponsorship from 888.com and know I’m in the right place,” concluded ‘Special K’.

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