Kell Brook next fight set to take place in Sheffield

Kell Brook: set to fight in front of home supporters

Sheffield boxing star Kell Brook will return to his hometown on 25th June for his next professional bout, his promoter Eddie Hearn has announced.

Hearn, the son of veteran sports promoter and chairman of Leyton Orient FC Barry, revealed on his Twitter account that his new charge would return home to fight former IBF light-welterweight world champion Lovemore N’dou in the summer.

The fight with the 39- year-old Sydney-based South African will take place at the Hillsborough leisure centre.

Brook recently left Frank Warren Promotions to sign a fresh deal with Hearn’s Matchroom Sports. The 24-year-old had grown impatient with Warren’s inability to secure him either a world title shot or a big name fight to further his promising career.

Brook, who as smashed his way up to 23 straight wins as a professional boxer with 16 by way of knockout, met with Matchroom’s managing director Hearn in March and their positive discussions convinced the boxer to seek pastures new.

It has been an excellent few weeks for Hearn and Matchroom sports, with WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch following Brook just a few days later in joining the Hearn's Matchroom Sports roster.

It had been highly speculated that Brook’s next fight would and should of been a world title shot or a major test, with a bout with unbeaten American Mike Jones widely touted, Miguel Cotto, Cornelius Bundrage and Paulie Malignaggi have also been mentioned.


Stiff challenge

N’dou (48, 12-2) certainly represents a stiffer challenge for Brook, but is perhaps is not the stellar name that many fight fans would have been hoping for the Sheffielder to take on. The veteran nonetheless has considerable pedigree at world level, despite his career being on the slide with his advancing years, and an impressive performance from Brook against a highly durable fighter who has never been stopped within the distance would earn him some kudos in the boxing world.
Vastly experienced, N’Dou has fought creditably against numerous high-level fighters, losing decisions to Miguel Cotto, Paulie Malignaggi (twice), Kermit Cintron and Bradford’s Junior Witter. He claimed a draw in November 2009 against Matthew Hatton. N’dou’s most recent outing was a points defeat to rising Mexican star Saul Alvarez at light-middleweight last December.


Out of action

Brook, the British and WBO Intercontinental welterweight champion, has also been out of action since December last year, when he knocked out Ghanaian Philip Kotey in just two rounds on the undercard of Warren’s Return of the Magnificent Seven in Liverpool.

The split with Warren appears to have been less than amicable, as the London based promoter hit out at Brook over the split in his weekly column.

“In the last week or so, I told Kell Brook I did not want to promote him anymore. I was fed up of constantly dealing with his father, rather than Kell himself,” he wrote.

“It felt like the situation that led to the breakdown of my relationship with Ricky Hatton.”

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