Errol Spence Jr. stops Kell Brook in 11th to take IBF welterweight title

Challenger Errol Spence Jr. started slowly but  the Texan came on strong in the middle and late rounds and defeated IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook by 11th-round TKO before 27,000 stunned and disappointed fans Saturday at Bramall Lane football stadium in Brook's hometown of Sheffield, England. The fight was televised in the U.S. by Showtime.

Brook (36-2, 25 KOs), who had suffered a broken orbital bone in his right eye after his stoppage loss to unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin last September, didn't have a problem with that eye, but his other eye was his undoing Saturday. It began swelling up in the middle rounds, and by the end, proved to be too much to overcome. Brook, who had also been down in the 10th round, took a knee one round later, and referee Howard John Foster stopped it at 1:47 of the 11th.

Spence Jr. (22-0, 19 KOs) was unable to beat Brook to the punch in the early rounds as Brook held the upper hand. "I came out in the first round and tried to force my jab. I was overshooting it and he was countering me with it," Spence Jr. said. "I think the nine-month layoff had me kind of shaky in there but he's a tricky fighter, awkward. He's very strong and he can punch. But I proved today I have a chin and I have true grit."

True grit indeed from the fighter nicknamed "The Truth", along with an edge in quickness and an ability to land his combinations, as Spence hung in early, then began to find openings with his body shots and took advantage as Brook tired in the later rounds. The southpaw landed 246 punches overall, 110 more than Brook, and was ahead on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage. In the final three rounds Spence outlanded Brook 92-27 overall and 72-25 on power punches.

"I give myself a B-minus. I don't think I did too good. I think I was a little bit off with my offense and my defense," Spence said. "But I give Kell a lot of credit. And these fans are beautiful fans, hardcore fans and they came out here to support their hometown champion."

Spence Jr was proud of himself for coming to England to take the belt back to the U.S. "This is a legacy-defining fight. That's what true champions do," he said. "You go anywhere to fight. He came to America to take the title so I came over here to take the title from him. I wanted to fight the champion and Kell Brook gave me the opportunity and I thank him for that."

Spence, who has called out welterweight champion Keith Thurman in the past, said he would like a shot at the WBA and WBC champion along with the WBO champion Manny Pacquiao. "The goal is to unify the titles. I want to fight Keith Thurman next, Manny Pacquiao next, unify the division and become the undisputed welterweight champion of the world."

Brook gave credit to his 27-year-old conqueror, a former U.S. Olympian who became the first American fighter in a decade to take the title from a British fighter in the United Kingdom.

"Spence is one of the best kids I've been in with, if not the best," he said. “It was a competitive fight. He got some rounds. I won some rounds too. I felt I was winning, but my eye didn’t allow me to continue. I just couldn’t see. You can’t fight if you can’t see.

"I lost my belt in front of the home fans here in Sheffield. I'm devastated."

Brook's promoter, Eddie Hearn, said he hoped Brook would move up to 154 pounds for his next fight.