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Confident, ambitious and gifted, Kell Brook is every inch a superstar-in-waiting. The unbeaten British welterweight champion, 23, is emerging as one of the rising forces in world boxing having cultivated a well-stocked cast of admirers as he’s steamrolled through the domestic ranks.
A product of the legendary Ingle Gym in Wincobank, Sheffield, Brook (pictured, left, with Michael Jennings) has - like Johnny Nelson, Junior Witter and, most famously, Naseem Hamed before him - been moulded into a high-class operator. The Hillsborough fighter has reawakened Sheffield’s rich boxing tradition - after turbulent times for veteran pair Clinton Woods and Junior Witter - and concedes that he’s following in some famous footsteps.
Brook said: “I’ve got a lot to live up to there are some good fighters from here but I’m on the road to living it up."
One name crops up more than most. That of course is Sheffield’s former poster boy and featherweight champion Hamed, whom Brook is regularly compared to.
“It’s good to be named alongside Naz obviously I mean we’re both from Sheffield,” he said. “I’m Kell Brook, I’m me, I’m my own fighter, and I don’t imitate Naz or anything like that."
Those comparisons, an inevitable but unfair burden, are fueled by Brook’s timing, lightening quick reflexes and punching power which mirrors the once-defeated southpaw showman. Those familiar skills have been fashioned by the expert work of the Ingles who have guided their star protégé from sparring with Naz as a nine-year-old to showing signs of emulating one of the Sheffield stable’s most famous names.
“The Ingles are very important – they’ve brought me up since day one," he said. "They know my body, they know how I think, they know me inside out, we’ve got a relationship down there. We get on really well and we both know exactly where we are with each other."
As the world stage beckons the welterweight hotshot is gearing up for the biggest fight of his career – the fourth defence of his British title in a mouth-watering clash against Jennings at the Echo Arena, Liverpool, on October 30.
"I’ve said I don’t want any easy route I want to fight the likes of Michael Jennings, who’s been in with (Miguel) Cotto before,” he said. “I think he has got a lot left, I think he’s a young 31,” Brook said. “He’s boxed for a world title this year, a couple of fights ago, so that speaks for itself. “He’s boxed at the top level. He’s still fresh, he’s got everything left.”
Brook, who has won all four of his British title fights with early stoppages, is looking to make the division’s top welterweights take notice of his fast-rising talents with a resounding victory against Jennings.
“I’m looking to make a statement, I’d like to do him faster than Cotto did but just to get the win is obviously great," he said. "That’s the icing on the cake if I can do one step ahead of Cotto. I’m looking at Cotto in four fights - maximum. By then I’ll be ready for one of them (world titles).”
A win over Jennings would put him on the brink of a world title shot and Brook is aware of the stakes.
"It would open doors for me, I’m No 7 in WBO rankings and I think I’m high up with other organisations," he said. "A win against Jennings would notch me up even further. After this fight, I’m not looking past Jennings, but I’d want to fight someone at the top in overall organisations - I’ll want to be up there."
Brook has time on his side in his pursuit of world glory, but he wants to box his way to the top of the 147-pound reckoning and stay there. "People say I’m young and there’s no rush but any young kid just wants to fight and prove that he’s the best in the world and once your there dominate your division," he said.
A product of the legendary Ingle Gym in Wincobank, Sheffield, Brook (pictured, left, with Michael Jennings) has - like Johnny Nelson, Junior Witter and, most famously, Naseem Hamed before him - been moulded into a high-class operator. The Hillsborough fighter has reawakened Sheffield’s rich boxing tradition - after turbulent times for veteran pair Clinton Woods and Junior Witter - and concedes that he’s following in some famous footsteps.
Brook said: “I’ve got a lot to live up to there are some good fighters from here but I’m on the road to living it up."
One name crops up more than most. That of course is Sheffield’s former poster boy and featherweight champion Hamed, whom Brook is regularly compared to.
“It’s good to be named alongside Naz obviously I mean we’re both from Sheffield,” he said. “I’m Kell Brook, I’m me, I’m my own fighter, and I don’t imitate Naz or anything like that."
Those comparisons, an inevitable but unfair burden, are fueled by Brook’s timing, lightening quick reflexes and punching power which mirrors the once-defeated southpaw showman. Those familiar skills have been fashioned by the expert work of the Ingles who have guided their star protégé from sparring with Naz as a nine-year-old to showing signs of emulating one of the Sheffield stable’s most famous names.
“The Ingles are very important – they’ve brought me up since day one," he said. "They know my body, they know how I think, they know me inside out, we’ve got a relationship down there. We get on really well and we both know exactly where we are with each other."
As the world stage beckons the welterweight hotshot is gearing up for the biggest fight of his career – the fourth defence of his British title in a mouth-watering clash against Jennings at the Echo Arena, Liverpool, on October 30.
"I’ve said I don’t want any easy route I want to fight the likes of Michael Jennings, who’s been in with (Miguel) Cotto before,” he said. “I think he has got a lot left, I think he’s a young 31,” Brook said. “He’s boxed for a world title this year, a couple of fights ago, so that speaks for itself. “He’s boxed at the top level. He’s still fresh, he’s got everything left.”
Brook, who has won all four of his British title fights with early stoppages, is looking to make the division’s top welterweights take notice of his fast-rising talents with a resounding victory against Jennings.
“I’m looking to make a statement, I’d like to do him faster than Cotto did but just to get the win is obviously great," he said. "That’s the icing on the cake if I can do one step ahead of Cotto. I’m looking at Cotto in four fights - maximum. By then I’ll be ready for one of them (world titles).”
A win over Jennings would put him on the brink of a world title shot and Brook is aware of the stakes.
"It would open doors for me, I’m No 7 in WBO rankings and I think I’m high up with other organisations," he said. "A win against Jennings would notch me up even further. After this fight, I’m not looking past Jennings, but I’d want to fight someone at the top in overall organisations - I’ll want to be up there."
Brook has time on his side in his pursuit of world glory, but he wants to box his way to the top of the 147-pound reckoning and stay there. "People say I’m young and there’s no rush but any young kid just wants to fight and prove that he’s the best in the world and once your there dominate your division," he said.
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