Brook defends British title

Kell Brook enhanced his reputation with a second-round stoppage of Stuart Elwell to retain the British welterweight title.

Sheffield youngster too strong for Elwell

Kell Brook enhanced his reputation with a second-round stoppage of Stuart Elwell to retain the British welterweight title. Elwell, a former Royal Marine, was consistently beaten to the punch by his opponent's much faster hand speed and was dropped twice in the first round. He comfortably beat the count on both occasions and hung on to survive the opening three minutes. After Brook continued to land at will throughout the first half of the second round, referee Marcus McDonnell stepped in to stop the comprehensively outclassed Elwell from taking further punishment. Brook is now unbeaten in 19 professional contests and his latest win provides the ideal launch pad for bigger challenges ahead.

Composed

"I thought I delivered a great performance," the Sheffield-based 22-year-old told Sky Sports. "I caught him twice in the first round, knew I had hurt him and kept composed before finishing the job. "At the end of the year I'd like a European title and in 2010 world honours. "Naz (former world champion Naseem Hamed) phoned me and said 'every 10 years one comes along and you're the next star'." Promoter Frank Warren confirmed the plan is for Brook to challenge for the European title before the end of 2009.