Spence takes Brook’s belt

American challenger stops British champ in 11th round to earn IBF welterweight title.

SHEFFIELD, England — Kell Brook lost his International Boxing Federation welterweight belt Saturday when American challenger Errol Spence Jr. stopped him in the 11th round.

Backed by most of the 27,000 spectators at Bramall Lane in his hometown, Brook met Spence on even terms in the first eight rounds.

But Brook’s left eye began to swell, and he was knocked down in the 10th round. With the eye almost closed, he took a knee in the 11th and referee Howard Foster agreed to end the contest.

Spence, 22-0 with 19 knockouts, relieved Brook of the welterweight title in his fourth defense. Brook (36-2) lost for a second straight time after an ill-fated attempt to move up two divisions to middleweight and take on Gennady Golovkin eight months ago.

On the undercard, George Groves became a world champion in his fourth attempt, stopping Fedor Chudinov in the sixth round for the vacant WBA super-middleweight belt.

Chudinov had lost only once, and started strong until he clashed heads, cutting Groves over his left eye. Groves rallied from there, a right hook starting a barrage in the sixth round that forced referee Steve Gray to stop the dazed Russian from continuing.

Chudinov’s second straight loss, after a points loss to titleholder Felix Sturm last year, dropped his record to 14-2.

Groves, from London, improved to 26-3 with 19 KOs. He had lost his three previous world title fights to Carl Froch, twice, and Badou Jack. Groves hired new trainer Shane McGuigan and won four straight to get back into title contention.