COOL and composed throughout the fight, Sheffield’s Kell Brook captured the IBF welterweight crown by taking a well-deserved majority decision against pre-fight favourite Shawn Porter in Carson, California. Many thought it was a huge gamble by Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn to take the fight in the States instead of giving Brook home advantage, but now his plan looks a masterstroke as Brook put on his best performance and was given huge exposure by being showcased by American TV giants Showtime.
Porter started the better, rushing Brook and forcing him on the back foot. It wasn’t pretty but very effective as he swarmed Brook, stopping the British challenger from getting his own punches off. Brook stayed calm though, and gradually got himself back into the fight, using his jab as a range-finder for his quick right straight hand that began to land in the second round. The American champion was still doing most of the work and was still fresh at this point. He seemed to take most of the early rounds on his work rate, while Brook, for a round or two, was content to guard the cut he had over his left eye. At this point, this writer’s scorecard read 58-56 Porter.
The second half of the fight saw a shift in momentum. Brook was landing more straight rights as he began to time the champion’s crude attacks. The jab was keeping Porter at bay as Brook was beginning to pile up the points. A nasty cut didn’t help the champion as he showed signs of fatigue from his very fast start. Brook was in charge apart from the last round, where Porter made one final attempt at saving his title. It wasn’t enough for Shawn, as the two American judges, Adalaide Byrd (116-112) and Max De Luca (117-111), overruled British judge Dave Parris’ score of 114-114, handing the title to Brook.
Below is this writer’s scorecard, along with the official punch stats and over 60 media scores for this fight. The scores now also show which members of the media were at ringside or had watched on TV. An average score for the bout and the percentage of media who scored for each fighter is also included.
Bobby Hunter’s scorecard:
Round 1 – 10-9 Porter
Round 2 – 9-10 Brook
Round 3 – 10-9 Porter
Round 4 – 10-9 Porter
Round 5 – 10-9 Porter
Round 6 – 9-10 Brook
Round 7 – 9-10 Brook
Round 8 – 9-10 Brook
Round 9 – 9-10 Brook
Round 10 – 10-9 Porter
Round 11 – 9-10 Brook
Round 12 – 10-9 Porter
TOTAL: 114-114 DRAW
Official punch stats:
Brook: 441 Thrown, 158 Landed, 36% Connect Rate
Porter: 626 Thrown, 154 Landed, 25% Connect Rate
Average boxing media scores (61 in total): 115-113 Brook
Brook: 49 media scores, 80%
Porter: 9 media scores, 15%
Draw: 3 media scores, 5%
Boxing media scorecards from ringside and TV:
Tris Dixon (BoxingNewsED) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Boxing Guru : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Brian Campbell (ESPN) : 117-111 Brook (TV)
Jim Watt (Sky TV) : 115-114 Porter (Ringside)
Steve Adams Jnr (Ringnews24) : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Daniel Vano (CheckHookBoxing) : 115-113 Brook (TV)
The QueensBerry Rules : 117-111 Brook (TV)
The Title Fight : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Phil D Jay (World Boxing News) : 116-113 Brook (TV)
Victor M Salazar (ThaBoxingVoice) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Steve Kim (UCN Live) : 115-113 Brook (Ringside)
Paul Webb (FirstClassBoxing) : 115-114 Brook (TV)
Scott Christ (BadLeftHook) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Adam Abramowitz (SaturNightBoxing) : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Adam Canavan (BoxingMadMagazine) : 114-114 Draw (TV)
Tommy Allan (BoxingAsylum) : 114-114 Draw (TV)
Jake Donovan (BoxingScene) : 117-111 Brook (TV)
Boxing Socialist : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Danny Winterbottom (BoxingNews) : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Leave It In The Ring Radio : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Kevin McRae (Bleacher Report) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
IEdit Boxing : 115-113 Porter (TV)
AllAboutBoxing : 117-112 Brook (TV)
Rich Marotta (KFIAM Radio) : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Lyle Fitzsimmons (BoxingScene) : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Cliff Rold (BoxingScene) : 117-112 Brook (TV)
Shaun Brown (BoxingScene) : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Kurt Ward (BoxingAsylum) : 116-112 Porter (TV)
Fighters Rated : 117-111 Brook (TV)
Alex Morris (BoxingAsylum) : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Andy Clarke (BoxNation TV) : 115-113 Porter (TV)
Dan Rafael (ESPN) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
John A MacDonald (Livefight) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Kasim Aslam (Global Boxing) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Bob Velin (USA Today) : 114-114 Draw (TV)
Boxrec News : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Sam Sheppard (QueensBerryRules) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
KO Radio : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Ciaran Gibbons (Freelance) : 117-113 Porter (TV)
Iconic Boxing : 115-114 Brook (TV)
Ryan Bivins (SweetBoxing) : 117-111 Brook (TV)
Lem Sattersfield (Ring Magazine) : 117-112 Brook (TV)
Boxing Philosopher : 116-112 Porter (TV)
Instant Boxing : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Johnathan Mitrosky (LaceUpBoxing) : 116-112 Porter (TV)
The TKO Network : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Associated Press : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Doug Fischer (Ring Magazine) : 115-113 Brook (Ringside)
Asian Boxing : 116-113 Brook (TV)
Corey Quincy (Freelance) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
John Hoolan (Freelance) : 115-113 Brook (TV)
John Evans (Livefight) : 115-114 Porter (TV)
Ciaran Shanks (Irvine Times) : 115-113 Porter (TV)
Rob Day (Ringnews24) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Robert Palmer (CheckHookBoxing) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Nigel Collins (ESPN FNFs) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
V2 Boxing : 115-114 Brook (TV)
Ray Markarian (LA Times) : 115-113 Brook (TV)
Andy Paterson (BoxingAsylum) : 116-113 Brook (TV)
Tom Gray (Ring Magazine) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
Graham Houston (Boxing Monthly) : 116-112 Brook (TV)
