Brook eliminates final obstacle before world title

Appearing on the undercard, Sheffield's Kell Brook (10st 11lb 6oz ), staying busy before fighting for the world welterweight title, took on the impossibly tough Mexican Alvaro Robles (10st 11lb) over ten.

It was mostly target practice for Brook, who slammed in jabs and straight right hands although Robles took everything Brook had to offer and consistently fired back. Brook's uppercut had Robles in trouble for the first time in round four, but the Mexican shook his head in defiance at the bell.

Just when it appeared Brook could land whatever, whenever he wanted, snapping back Robles' head in the fifth, the visitor launched an assault of his own, landing to Brook's body and head. The crowd showed their appreciation for the effort.

Robles was able to find Brook with his own left hook as the Sheffield man worked away trying to put a dent in the Mexican. After winding up the pressure, finally in round eight, referee John Latham jumped in at the same time as the Mexican corner threw in the towel - Robles taking straight shots flush to the head.

Brook was on the verge of stopping his man a round earlier, rendering Robles unsteady on his feet but gave himself no punching room and as a result fell into his opponent when he needed to be standing off and picking his shots. By his own admittance it would have been tough for Brook to keep motivated for another non-title fight, but although totally outgunned, Robles was able to exploit Brook's absence of head movement, something which could prove costly at top level. Official time of the stoppage was 1:35 of round eight. Hopefully the waiting game is finally over for Brook. His next fight should be against the winner of Shaun Porter v Paulie Malignaggi for the IBF world title.

In an episode which he will want to forget in a hurry, (now former) Commonwealth super middleweight champion Rocky Fielding lost his title on the scales by weighing in at a ridiculous 12st 6lb 11oz. Whichever way you look at it, for a contest made at 12 stone that doesn't say an awful lot for either his discipline or professionalism.

Perennial Commonwealth title contestant Charles Adamu from Ghana came in considerably lighter at 11st 12lb. By fight time however, Fielding was unable to convert this unfair weight advantage and laboured to a unanimous twelve round points decision. All three judges scored 120-108.

It was poor fare. Fielding started aggressively enough, slamming in body shots and backing Adamu up early, but the fight soon became messy and didn't improve. Fielding seemed short on ideas as he continued to jab, Adamu continued to rush in and they would fall into each other. Fielding did manage to put Adamu down in the seventh courtesy of a well timed stiff jab, but the Ghanaian was up on his feet immediately.

Following a couple of quick wins it would have brought Fielding back down to earth, as he still targets a showdown with British champion Paul Smith. Whether that fight happens or not remains to be seen, although despite his issues with the scales Fielding asserted his future was still at super middleweight. Steve Gray refereed.

Liverpool light welterweight prospect Robbie Davies Jr (10st 3lb) took on Tottenham's occasionally dangerous Mark McKray (also 10 st 3lb) and boxed to an extremely well disciplined eight round points decision. Davies, sporting a Salvador Sanchez-style haircut, took every round on my scorecard and officially ran out an 80-73 winner for referee John Latham. Effectively switch-hitting, Davies was impressive with the jab from either stance, keeping McKray at distance and limited to falling short with wild swings.

In the fifth, Davies landed a lovely left hand over the top and continued to confuse McKray with his punch picking. McKray come out aggressively for the sixth, and found success with a couple of hard shots, notably a right hand landing bang on Davies's chin before Robbie reasserted control. Davies is progressing at speed - picking up his fifth win inside his first year as a pro.

In a potential gamble which saw him step up in class, former ABA champion Neil Perkins (10st 12lb 11oz) took on Erick Ochieng (10st 11lb 7oz) in an intriguing light middleweight eight rounder. The intrigue was mainly pre-fight however, as Perkins outclassed 'The Eagle' for a clear points victory. I had the Liverpool southpaw winning every round and it came as a surprise to hear referee Latham's score a much closer 78-76. Ochieng was on the floor in the second, but it was a Perkins right hand which bounced off Erick's shoulder causing him to slip. The referee gave a count as Ochieng rightly protested, before replying with three solid rights of his own.

Perkins was much more effective throughout, working on the front foot behind the jab. Ochieng looked unsteady on his feet and seemed content throwing lead right hands without working any openings. Perkins finished strongly, opening up in the last, slamming Ochieng with fast shots as he trapped his man on the ropes. Ochieng never got to grips with the sharpness and movement of Perkins and suffered his fourth defeat in 18 fights. Perkins moves to 6-0 and will now be eyeing potential title fights on the back of this win.

Economists of the night were the two Georgians fighting on the bill, who rather than bring over their trainers at additional expense, simply worked each other's corner, and watched one another take turns in getting a hammering. First up was the hapless Mikheil Avakyan (9st 12lb 10z) who helped lightweight contender Kevin Mitchell (9st 13lb) warm up for a May 31st date on the Froch v Groves Wembley undercard by putting his head in the way of most of Mitchell's punches for a couple of rounds.

After only 20 seconds of action it was clear that it was going to be an early night for Mitchell, Avakyan woefully out of his depth. His legs were all over the place even without any effect from Mitchell's punches, and it wasn't long before Kevin found a left hook to hurt Avakyan then a straight left to drop him at the end of the first.

It was all about keeping busy for Mitchell, as a left-right to the bloodied face of Avakyan sent him to the canvas for the second time and referee Steve Gray waved it off, completing the mandatory eight count at 2:07 of round two. There is a case to be made that Avakyan would have been beaten by any of the top 50 British lightweights, let alone a world rated Mitchell, for whom Eddie Hearn now hopes to entice IBF world champion Miguel Vazquez over for the Wembley show.

Avakyan's countryman George Kandelaki (12st 3lb 12oz) fared slightly better as he went six rounds with middleweight John Ryder (12st 2lb). Kandelaki also finished with a face full of blood as Ryder stalked him throughout the contest, dropping the visitor with a left hand in round two. Kandelaki was down again in the third following a right hook from Ryder but it was ruled a slip by referee Steve Gray.

Ryder kept the pressure on for the full six rounds, a left hand buckling Kandelaki's legs in the last round as it appeared he'd received a busted nose for his troubles. Mr Gray's scorecard read 60-53. Although appearing in front of a sparse crowd after the main event, Ryder looked sharp and is back in action in three weeks time against Jez Wilson in a British title eliminator.

Adam Ismail's light middleweight contest against Duane Green (11st 2lb 11oz) ended with a points decision - southpaw Ismail (11st 11lb 5oz) outworked the Norwich man and was awarded a 40-37 verdict by referee Steve Gray.

Ismail moves to 4-0 with Green dropping to 1-6-2. It was good to see former European champion Jon Thaxton in Green's corner, looking like he could still do twelve rounds tomorrow.

In the show closer which didn't start until after midnight, super featherweight Ryan Moorhead (9st 5lb 4oz) scored his second professional victory with a 40-36 points decision over Ibrar Riyaz (9st 11lb). Moorhead's fast jab and straight punching was the difference, Riyaz not able to get close enough.

Moorhead looked comfortable boxing on the back foot and deserved all four rounds from referee John Latham. With a bit more urgency and organisation, there appeared to be opportunity to get the Ryder and Moorhead bouts on before the main event as there were lengthy gaps between fights.

It would be of benefit to everyone, not least the fighters themselves, to go on in front of a healthy crowd wherever possible. It is understandable that allowances have to be made for television, but common sense should prevail.