Steve Rolls Drops, Stops Christopher Brooker In 9th Round On Beterbiev-Browne Card

Steve Rolls got in some rounds Friday night that he desperately needed if the Canadian super middleweight is to take a much tougher fight in his first appearance of 2022.

Toronto’s Rolls dominated Philadelphia’s Christopher Brooker throughout their 168-pound bout on the Artur Beterbiev-Marcus Browne undercard at Bell Centre in Montreal. Rolls landed numerous right hands on the always-game Brooker and finally landed enough of them to end their scheduled 10-rounder in the ninth round.

Three straight right hands from Rolls to the side of Brooker’s head sent the beaten, fatigued fighter to his gloves and knees with 1:41 to go in the ninth round. Brooker beat referee Steve St. Germain’s count, but he still stopped the action at 1:32 of the ninth round.

Rolls improved to 21-1, recorded his 12th knockout and remained in contention to possibly box Brooklyn’s Edgar Berlanga (18-0, 16 KOs) sometime in the spring. Brooker (16-9, 6 KOs) lost inside the distance for the first time in his six-year pro career.

Rolls, 37, fought for just the second time since Gennadiy Golovkin knocked him out in the fourth round of their June 2019 bout at Madison Square Garden in New York.

In the round before Rolls stopped Brooker, Rolls continued to batter Brooker with right hands throughout the eighth round.

Rolls rocked Brooker with a right hand with just over 20 seconds on the clock in the seventh round. Earlier in the seventh round, Rolls’ right to Brooker’s body hurt him, as did the right hand he landed to Brooker’s head approximately 10 seconds later.

Rolls’ right uppercut stopped Brooker in his tracks just before the sixth round ended.

An overhand right by Rolls connected flush with just over a minute to go in the fifth round. Brooker continued to wear down during that round and didn’t mount much offense.

Rolls blasted Booker with a right hand and then a left that backed him into a corner just before the midway mark of the fourth round.

Rolls’ right hand buzzed Brooker with just over a minute to go in the third round. A left hook to the body by Rolls, followed by a right hand up top, affected Brooker just before the third round ended.

Rolls drilled Brooker with a right hand a little less than a minute into the second round.

A looping right hand by Brooker connected with just over 50 seconds remaining in the first round. That shot made Rolls hold him as Brooker came forward.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.