91Èȱ¬

Kell Brook took his undefeated run to 27 fights by beating Matthew Hatton unanimously on points in Sheffield.

In front of nearly 10,000 fans at the Motorpoint Arena, Brook added the IBF International welterweight title to his WBA Inter-Continental crown.

The 25-year-old from Sheffield floored Hatton in the ninth, but could not knock out his Mancunian opponent.

Brook's promoter Eddie Hearn has now targeted a bout with Amir Khan, which he believes could attract 50,000 fans.

Hearn, the boss of the Matchroom promotional organisation, said: "It's probably one of the few fights that is going to bring back pay-per-view television to British boxing. Will Amir Khan take it? I wouldn't imagine so.

"It has to be a pay-per-view, outdoor fight, because he's got big revenue coming from HBO in America. So to bring it to seven, eight, nine o'clock at night, there has to be big money in the UK. With 40,000 fans and pay-per-view TV, that's a fight that can happen.

"Let me tell you, Kell would absolutely destroy Amir Khan. We'll fight him. We'll fight him next, 100% and make it happen outdoors with a crowd of 40,000 or 50,000."

A cagey opening saw Brook bloody Hatton's nose with a sharp jab in the first round. Hatton refused to be shaken by the blow and mounted a solid defence against his lively opponent in the second and third rounds.

Brook continued to take the initiative and inflicted further damage in the next round as he began to pick up the tempo.

This offensive was met with a short-lived counter-attack by Hatton at the start of the sixth before Brook started to smash through his opponent's barriers and lift the crowd.

By the halfway stage, Brook had thrown nearly 100 punches more than the man from Manchester and the shots started to show on Hatton's face.

Hatton continued to showcase his trademark tenacity, but Brook finally floored Hatton with a left-handed counter-punch at the start of the ninth.

Hatton connected with a solid uppercut at the start of the 10th, though it did not shake Brook.

The Yorkshireman picked up the pace again and had Hatton on the ropes in the 11th.

Hatton stood up to a rapid attack in the final round, but the judges' decision cemented Brook's reputation as Britain's premier welterweight.

Afterwards he said of the prospect of facing Khan: "Of course I want Khan, I've been banging on about Amir Khan, but I'm going to do my own thing and if that fight happens, it happens, and I'll smash him.

"I want to be fighting at that top table now with elite fighters. I think I've proved I deserve to be there."