Photos by Amanda Westcott/Showtime
On Saturday, May 27, 2017, Kell Brook lost his IBF Welterweight title to undefeated American fighter, Errol Spence Jr, (22 -0, 19 KO’s), after an 11th-round stoppage in front of his home crowd at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, England.
The conglomerate of suffering defeat in front of his home audience and again suffering a devastating injury all may take Brook quite some time to recover from.
After the fight, Brook, whose record now stands at 36-2, 25 KOs, was obviously shaken. “I live to fight another day but I’m gutted that, in front of my home fans, I’ve lost my belt,” said Brook.
Eddie Hearn later confirmed Brook was being treated in the hospital for a fractured eye socket.
“It’s the same injury as [Brook sustained against] Golovkin, but in the other eye, which is unbelievable. But no complaint, Kell was beaten by the better man,” said Hearn.
That certainly makes fans question–what is next for Kell Brook?
A fight between UK natives Amir Khan and Kell Brook has been one that British fans have been eyeballing for years.
The two rivals have seemed to tap dance around the idea of a fight, but always ended up opting for other opponents. As both fighter are now coming off loses, they have simultaneously reached a crossroads in their careers, thus, the timing seems to now make the greatest sense.
Khan was ringside during Brook’s fight as a commentator. “I’d like to fight him at 147,” said Khan to Sky Sports. “It depends on Kell’s eye, and also the dates–there are a lot of pay-per-view fights on. The fight between me and Kell Brook is a pay-per-view fight. I really believe that fight next summer would make sense.”
As a highly-anticipated fight between rivals, Brook and Khan financially would do great numbers in the United Kingdom and their styles make for an interesting matchup as well. It would make sense for both fighters to seek a tune-up fight and then possibly meet each other in the ring sometime in early 2018.
Retirement is also a very serious option for Brook. The injury sustained on Saturday night and the recovery is a familiar one to Brook, as he has endured the process previously in his right eye, just nine months ago.
Due to the first eye injury, suffered after facing Golovkin, surgery was performed and a metal plate was inserted into Brook’s face. With a surgeon’s knife waiting again; it is sure to have crossed Brook’s mind that after a 13-year professional career it now may be the time to call it a day.
Brook took the fight with Spence Jr. as a mandatory defense of his 147-pound title. Brook explained repeatedly that he was in process of moving up to Junior Middleweight, but felt that he needed to defend his title against Spence Jr., and not simply vacate the belt.
Brook has been known to struggle with making the 147-pound weight limit and his promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed his fighter is “done” with Welterweight and will certainly move up in weight moving forward.
Brook may well decide to move up to Junior Middleweight or even to Middleweight, the level at which he met Golovkin last September.
There are many formidable opponents in both the 154 pound and 160 pound divisions as it has recently become a bit of a hot bed for boxing’s biggest and most charismatic stars. There is no doubt that a healthy version of Brook could thrive within either division. Operative word however; healthy.
There is only so much damage one person can take in their boxing career. It was significant that Brook admitted his decision to drop down on one knee on Saturday was based partially on the memories of the punishment he took against Golovkin.
“I remember the surgeon telling me if I’d have gone a round or so extra [against Golovkin] I could have gone blind. I had that in my mind,” said Brook.
Brook’s career is at a crossroads in which he will need to take some time to truly reflect on, then decide if he wants to continue fighting.
Brook can look back proudly at a career that saw him become a world champion at the age of 28,when he beat Shawn Porter on American soil in August of 2014. But he can also look back a see a career that failed to reach its true potential by not solidifying a super fight against Amir Khan while both were in their prime.
Brook can also confidently know that even though he moved up to Middleweight to face Golovkin, a contest that ended in brutal defeat, it showed Brook could compete at 160 pounds. Brook may feel that he can truly compete among the best still, just at a higher weight.
What is for sure is Brook is unlikely to fight again this year due to the need to undergo an operation. In losing to Spence Jr. and suffering another eye socket facture, Brook’s career has reached a pivotal fork in the road.
Only time will tell what is next for Kell “The Special One” Brook.
