Kell Brook vs. Kevin Bizier: Lessons Learned from Sheffield Fight

Kell Brook's first outing in nearly 10 months proved to be short and sweet.

The IBF welterweight champion defended his belt with ease against Kevin Bizier (25-3, 17 KOs) on Saturday, stopping his mandatory challenger in Round 2 in Sheffield, England.

The victory stretches Brook's perfect record to 36-0 (25 KOs). We can only hope that there are tougher fights ahead for him in the rest of 2016.

On the undercard, Luke Campbell (13-1, 11 KOs) didn't hang around in claiming the vacant Commonwealth lightweight belt. The 2012 Olympic gold medallist needed less than six minutes to see off Gary Sykes (28-5, 6 KOs).

Here, Bleacher Report reviews the action, as well as dusts off the old crystal ball to try to look into the future.

No Surprises

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There are occasions in boxing when a fighter's CV doesn't reveal the full story.

For instance, when Ismael Barroso arrived in London to fight Kevin Mitchell in December 2015, his career record contained two draws, no real names of note and a three-year period of inactivity.

But, at 32, he turned out to be a hidden gem in an age when social media makes it hard for anyone to go unnoticed. The Venezuelan beat Mitchell and will next face WBA lightweight champion Anthony Crolla.

When you looked at Bizier's record, it was hard to make a case for him getting the better of Brook.

The Canadian had lost twice before, both times to Jo Jo Dan. Yes, the same Jo Jo Dan whom Brook defeated with ease on March 28, 2015 (when the Canadian-based Romanian was his mandatory challenger).

The form guide suggested it wasn't going to be a difficult night for Brook, and so it proved. With Bizier, it was a case of the fighter's CV revealing exactly what was going to happen in the ring.

Bizier may have prepared well for the biggest fight of his life, but he wasn't ready for the power and accuracy of Brook's punches.

The question to be asked is, what was Bizier doing in the ring with Brook in the first place?

For the second time in less than a year, the IBF served up a challenger who didn't merit such an opportunity.

Ron Lewis of the Times and Dan Rafael of ESPN.com pointed out the issue on Twitter:

In case you're wondering, the organisation has Errol Spence Jr. ranked at No. 2, per FightNews.com.

If only Brook had been told to face the talented young American instead of Bizier, who sunk without a trace when thrown into the deep end.

Three and Easy

Brook's last three fights have lasted less than 12 rounds combined. Having already dismissed Dan and then flattened Frankie Gavin in 2015, he blitzed Bizier in five minutes and 15 seconds.

Gareth A Davies noted in his fight report for the Telegraph: "Try as he might, and Bizier headed straight into the trenches against the home favourite, he had no answer to the brutal, precise attacks of Brook, who was as comfortable on the front foot as he was countering the obdurate French-Canadian. Brook’s jab was electric, his power even more impressive."

The Special One always looks, well, special against opponents who are not quite at the world level. He has become an expert at making easy work of fighters he is expected to beat comfortably.

Now, though, he needs to be challenged. 

Brook admitted as much in his post-fight interview on Sky Sports (h/t Tim Hobbs of SkySports.com): "I hit him with a shot and that was all she wrote. I've got my mandatory out of the way and we're going to get the big fight now."

The pressure is on promoter Eddie Hearn to deliver something big for one of his prized assets in the Matchroom stable. Someone on Twitter in the industry couldn't help but stir the pot:

The move to get the mandatory challenger out of the way creates a blank canvas for Brook and Hearn. It will be fascinating to see what they can come up with.

Who Next?

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The Kell Brook Name Game (I've already copyrighted that title for an app, so don't get any ideas) began before poor Bizier had been helped up from the canvas.

For once, Amir Khan wasn't at the forefront of the post-fight chatter. He is booked to face Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in a catchweight contest, staged at 155 pounds, on May 7.

So, if you can't beat him, why not join him? Hearn revealed before the bout with Bizier that there had been a discussion over Brook moving up to a catchweight of 157 pounds to face Gennady Golovkin, according to Chris McKenna of the Daily Star.

However, there are unification fights in the welterweight division to consider.

Champions Danny Garcia (WBC), Keith Thurman (WBA) and Timothy Bradley Jr. (WBO) could all be targets.

Hearn has talked of getting Brook a big summer fight at Bramall Lane, the home of Sheffield United Football Club, as he mentioned to McKenna.

But, several on Twitter questioned whether the stars at welterweight would be willing to travel overseas:

Garcia, Spence Jr. and Thurman (plus former IBF champion Shawn Porter, whom Thurman faces on June 25) are all tied to Premier Boxing Champions. Thanks to Al Haymon, they can make plenty of money fighting on home turf.

Bradley Jr., meanwhile, takes on Manny Pacquiao on April 9 in Las Vegas. Brook would like to face the winner, or loser for that matter, but he may have to get his passport out to secure such fights. 

However, the main focus after his victory over Bizier was the chance to eat chocolate again, according to gym-mate Jordan Gill:

Campbell's Comeback

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According to James Smailes of the Hull Daily Mail, Campbell made a bit of local history in beating Sykes:

He didn't waste much time in getting his hands on the belt, dismantling his opponent in Round 2. Sykes simply couldn't cope with the tall, skilled southpaw.

The win was the perfect comeback for Campbell following his surprise loss to Yvan Mendy in December 2015. He is now working on a full-time basis with trainer Jorge Rubio, although there wasn't a lot of time to see if the new relationship had resulted in any changes.

The 28-year-old insists the Mendy loss was just a blip, per Tim Hobbs of SkySports.com: "Last time, I wasn't fully right. Tonight, I performed against a great fighter and it's onwards and upwards for now."

He also suggested he would like a rematch with the Frenchman who put an end to his perfect record.

Campbell, however, does not need to go back over old ground. Hopefully, he has learned his lesson from the meeting with Mendy and can now move on.

As a 5'9" southpaw with an excellent amateur pedigree, Campbell has the tools to go further than winning a Commonwealth belt.

However, he still needs prove his maiden loss was just a fluke rather than a glimpse into the future. It will take more than a routine win over Sykes—a man who made his name at super featherweight—to convince the doubters.

One and Done

It was a night of quick wins at the Sheffield Arena. Andy Townend stopped Craig Poxton in Round 1 to win the English super featherweight title. You can see why with punches like this:

The (Boxing) Gift That Keeps on Giving

Tyson Fury wasn't in Sheffield. The heavyweight was instead watching at the Wembley Arena in London, where his cousin, Hughie Fury, was fighting veteran American Dominick Guinn (Fury won on points).

However, Tyson still ended up being the centre of attention. Don't ever change, Tyson:

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