Pat Brown chopped down John Hedges with a sixth-round body shot Saturday night, capturing the vacant British and Commonwealth cruiserweight titles before his Manchester supporters.
The Matchroom card took place at Co-op Live and was streamed live on DAZN. Brown (7-0, 7 KOs) also retained his WBA International and IBF Intercontinental belts while passing his most difficult professional test.
Hedges (12-1, 3 KOs) used his 6’6″ frame well in the opening round, circling away from Brown’s right hand and making the shorter puncher follow him. Brown began closing the distance in the second, attacking the body and turning the fight into a physical struggle whenever Hedges tried to hold.
The southpaw regained control at times in the third by landing hooks and straight left hands from range. However, he was briefly shaken by a right hand, an early indication that Brown’s power would eventually decide the fight.
Brown found the target with greater frequency during the fourth and fifth rounds. His jab helped him step inside, where his straight right and uppercut carried far more force than Hedges’ counters. Hedges attempted to smother the attacks with clinches, but that only delayed the damage.
The finish arrived in round six. Brown dropped Hedges during a sustained attack and remained composed after the action resumed. He continued pressing until a crushing shot to the body sent Hedges down again, dislodging his mouthpiece. The referee immediately stopped the contest.
The knockout maintained Brown’s perfect stoppage rate, but his patience was more significant than the statistic. He did not panic when Hedges created distance or turn reckless after hurting him. Brown methodically removed the taller fighter’s escape routes before finishing the job.
“I know what I want to do. I want to stick him in with Jai Opetaia and watch him knock Opetaia spark out. That’s what I want, but that’s to come,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing after the fight about Brown. “He’s world ranked in every governing body. He’s going to be top 5 in the world. The future is down to Pat Brown. All he’s got to do is keep working like a dog every single day. If there was ever someone that fights for his people, it’s Pat Brown.”
Shabaz Masoud Sweeps Every Round
In the co-feature, Shabaz Masoud (16-0, 4 KOs) defeated Argentina’s Ckari Cani Mansilla (19-5, 13 KOs) by a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision at featherweight. All three judges scored the bout 100-90.
Masoud controlled Mansilla throughout but rarely shifted out of cruise control. The former super bantamweight consistently beat the Argentine veteran to the punch without applying the sustained pressure required to force a stoppage.
It was useful work in Masoud’s first bout at 126 pounds, although the lack of resistance made it difficult to judge how much his power has carried into the higher division. After victories over Liam Davies and Peter McGrail, a routine shutout over Mansilla adds another belt but tells us little about Masoud’s readiness for the division’s leading fighters.
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