Brook batters Khan in exhilarating brawl

Kell Brook battered and halted Amir Khan in the sixth round of a thrilling battle in Manchester on Saturday to settle their bitter feud.

The referee stepped in with Khan still standing but with Brook piling in a barrage of one-sided punches before the rivals embraced – finally, a show of respect amid the animosity that began in 2004.

Book repeats here

Brook overcame pre-fight doubts over his condition to make a flying start after being booed into the ring, where he oddly changed his gloves after a backstage dispute which added late drama.

But he staggered Khan twice in the opening round.

Perhaps sensing his own vulnerability, Khan attempted to fire back to the delight of the partisan crowd, but it was Brook who continued with the more accurate work.

Khan withstood late-round barrages from Brook in the third and fourth, while the fact he survived an onslaught in the fifth earned acknowledgement from his opponent at the end of the period.

However, that was the end of his resistance, as Brook landed early in sixth, before patiently continuing his attack until Victor Loughlin decided Khan could not take any more.

Amir Khan vs Kell Brook repeats are on Sky Box Office at 8am and 3pm on Sunday February 20