Unbeaten boxer Pat Brown stops Hedges in brutal fashion
British boxer Pat Brown extended his unbeaten record with a body-shot stoppage of Patrick Hedges in Manchester, adding the Commonwealth title to his British belt.
The bout, originally scheduled for Altrincham, was relocated to East Manchester's Co-op Live arena after ticket demand surged. Around 5,000 fans packed the venue, cheering Brown's entrance while jeering Essex fighter Hedges.
Hedges controlled the early rounds with an awkward, evasive style and smart footwork, frustrating Brown's attempts to land his power shots. The tide turned in the fifth round as Brown began working behind his jab to set up combinations, capping the round with a right uppercut.
At the weigh-in, Hedges had paid tribute to Manchester boxing icon Ricky Hatton, whose death anniversary fell on 14 September. Fittingly, it was a Hatton-style left hook to the body from Brown that dropped Hedges to his knees. He beat the count, but a follow-up shot to the midsection put him down again, and he was unable to continue.
Brown, who walked to the ring alongside his father, had previously said that placing championship belts on his father's shoulders was what mattered most to him — he added two more titles to that collection on the night. Reflecting on recent losses suffered by Moses Itauma and Conor Benn after bypassing domestic titles for world-level fights, Brown said he intends to take the gradual 'journey' route, following the path of Chris Billam-Smith and Lawrence Okolie, both of whom used the British cruiserweight title as a stepping stone to world honours.
Brown now holds the British and Commonwealth titles and could next target European champion Viddal Riley, who last fought in April, winning a unanimous decision over former world title challenger Mateusz Masternak.
During an interview with BBC Sport, Old Trafford — home of Brown's beloved Manchester United — was visible in the background. The stadium has not hosted a boxing match since Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn's drawn unification bout in 1993. Brown said headlining there one day would mean more to him than any title belt, and promoter Eddie Hearn said he could envision exactly that: Brown fighting for a world title at Old Trafford.
