Kell Brook largely had his way today in Sheffield with tough veteran Lovemore N'dou, but even though he hurt the 39-year-old "Black Panther" repeatedly, he couldn't become the first man to ever stop N'dou. Brook won on scores of 119-110, 119-110 and 118-111. Bad Left Hook scored it 119-108 for Brook.
Brook (24-0, 16 KO) definitely tried to become the first man to stop N'dou (48-13-2, 31 KO), but even though Brook's uppercuts landed frequently and stiff, and N'dou was often seemingly on bad legs, N'dou once again proved he has one of the best chins in boxing.
Brook hopefully will use this impressive performance to springboard into a bigger fight, because he's ready for it and desires that kind of step up. He's got speed and power, and he's a good athlete, with his weaknesses being a somewhat leaky defense. But skills-wise, he's the real deal. It's time to find out how high his ceiling is, because N'dou is about as tough as 147-pound, high-end gatekeepers get.
As for N'dou, he's close to the end of a very respectable career, and before he wore down in this one, was there ready to fight Brook toe-to-toe. He just didn't have enough overall.
Our live coverage this afternoon continues here with Felix Sturm vs Matthew Macklin from Germany.