It wasn't a matter of if Kell Brook would beat Mark DeLuca. It was a matter of when he'd put the American out of his misery.
After scoring a knockdown early in the fight, Brook put DeLuca away with a vicious short left hook at the 1:15 mark of the seventh-round at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England, live on DAZN.
“My eating is back to normal, I feel like I could have went 15 rounds in there,” Brook said in his post-fight interview. “I took my time and picked him apart, and got the win the way we wanted.”
Brook (39-2, 27 KO), returning for the first time since December 2018, started the fight off looking to gain his footing and trying to lock down DeLuca's timing. That all changed in the third round when Brook stunned DeLuca with a right hand. Seeing he had DeLuca in trouble, Brook threw two hard left hooks to send the native of Massachusetts down for the first time.
The former IBF welterweight champion kept the pressure on DeLuca. He stayed within range, landed at will and was making mincemeat of DeLuca's face, leaving him with a broken nose and closing his left eye shut. From there, DeLuca was little more than a punching bag as Brook continued to get rounds under his belt with little resistance.
In the seventh round, Brook clearly had enough and came out like a man on a mission. Brook got DeLuca against the ropes and dropped him for the second and final time of the night. DeLuca rose up at the three but was out on his feet, and the referee had seen enough.
“The first few rounds were a little bit rusty,” Brook said. “‘The Bazooka’ was very tough and durable, he was a very smart fighter. I had to chip away for a clinical finish. I think you’re always questioning yourself, but I believe in what I’ve been doing in the gym.”
The win was Brook's third since he moved up to 154 pounds. What's next for him is unknown but former sparring partner, fellow Englishman and former 154-pound champion Liam Smith was mentioned as a possible foe. It's something Brook wouldn't commit too but it did pique his interest.
“I don’t shy away from any fighter,” Brook said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I’ve sparred him. I’ve boxed Golovkin, and he’s boxed Canelo. We’ve had very good spars; if those are anything to go by, the fight would be amazing. We’ll sit down and discuss it.”