By Terence Dooley
Sheffield's Kell Brook defends his WBA Inter-Continental welterweight title against Poland's Rafal Jackiewicz at his home city's Pond Forge Arena on Saturday night. The 25-year-old is attracting attention Stateside as he works his way towards a world title shot yet 'Ezekiel' knows he cannot afford to take his challenger lightly in front of the Sky TV cameras.
"I'm always confident when I fight," said Brook when speaking to Sky Sports View. "He (Rafal) didn't do too well early on his career but he's like a good wine - he gets better as he gets older. He's challenged for a world title, he's proved himself and he's ranked number six by the Ring Magazine. He's coming over here 100 per cent and he'll be in front of me on Saturday night trying to take something away from me. But I've got my mind clearly on the job. I'll be thinking in the back of my mind about the knockout. That's what I always want, the knockout. I'm going to box clever, have a look at this kid, then go to work."
Brook went the full twelve rounds distance in his last fight, a wide decision win over Lovemore N'dou in July. Promoter Eddie Hearn has signed his charge to a sponsorship deal with Adidas and feels that 'Special' Kell is a few wins away from taking the world, and the US, by storm.
Jackiewicz lost a majority decision to Jan Zaveck in September 2010. A former EBU titlist, 'Braveheart' holds a 38-9-1 (19) record and knows that a win could help him to move onto bigger things as Brook is highly rated by the WBA, occupying their sixth spot in the latest rankings.
Sky Sports 1 and HD1 televise from 8.30pm on Saturday night.
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