On this day in 2022: Kell Brook beats rival Amir Khan with sixth-round stoppage

Brook had courted a showdown against an opponent he had come to despise for several years only to be constantly rebuffed.

But, after being given an opportunity at Manchester’s AO Arena, the then 35-year-old grasped it with both hands in a long-awaited 149lb catchweight bout.

The Sheffield fighter shrugged off being vociferously jeered to the ring by a crowd largely in support of Bolton-born Khan and repeatedly left his foe on rubbery legs with countless punishing shots to the head.

Khan refused to buckle and stayed upright throughout but he absorbed some vicious blows and his face was heavily marked when referee Victor Loughlin stepped in to wave off the fight 51 seconds into the sixth round.

“This grudge match is the icing on the cake for me, I can live at peace with myself and my career,” said Brook.

“You could see on my face that I was absolutely over the moon with the win. I’ll be remembered for this fight now forever.”

Khan, fighting at the venue where he first won a world title in 2009, only showed flashes of the form which saw him become a unified light welterweight champion more than a decade ago.

While Brook improved his record to 40 wins from 43 fights, the decorated Khan’s future in the sport was left up in the air after the sixth defeat of his professional career in what was his first outing since July 2019.

“I’ll sit down with my family but I think it could be,” Khan replied when asked whether it may be his last fight.

“I’ve always said I never want boxing to retire me, I want to retire from boxing and punishment like that sometimes in boxing, too much of that can be sometimes harmful in the future.”