As Sheffield’s Dalton Smith prepares to win his first world title in Brooklyn, New York this weekend, one of the city’s former world champions, Kell Brook, is having to refute speculation that he is set to enter the grisly world of bareknuckle boxing.
Eleven and a half years ago, of course, it was Brook who was travelling to America to win a world title. That night in Carson, California, he managed to dethrone Shawn Porter and return to Sheffield with the IBF welterweight title, which he then defended three times before losing it in a gruelling encounter with Errol Spence in 2017.
Now, Brook, 39, is no longer a world champion, and no longer an active fighter. His last fight, in fact, took place back in 2022, when he stopped longtime rival Amir Khan in the sixth round of a fight both long overdue and somewhat disappointing in the end. Even so, for Brook, the win over Khan proved to be the perfect note on which to bow out of the sport, so he did. He got out.
Since then, there have been rumours of a potential return, which is not uncommon when a boxer opts to retire in their thirties having won their final fight. Yet, rather than a return to professional boxing, Brook has mostly been linked to a move into the world of bareknuckle boxing, this offshoot of the noble art which has recently gained popularity and strips the art of its nobility. The fights in that world are quicker and bloodier and plenty of retired boxers lost in retirement are easily seduced by the prospect of once again making money by using their fists. You can, in other words, see the appeal.
According to rumour, Brook, 40-3 (28 KOs), was just one of many retired boxers starting to show an interest. Like Lucas Browne, Paulie Malignaggi, or James DeGale, his knuckles were beginning to itch; intrigue was getting the better of him.
Then, on Thursday, Aaron Chalmers, a former Geordie Shore cast member-turned-professional boxer-turned-bareknuckle boxer used social media to reveal a poster suggesting he and Brook were set to fight this year in BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship). He captioned the poster with the message, “2026 off to a flyer,” and with that we appeared to have confirmation. We had confirmation that Brook had given in to temptation. We had confirmation that the gloves were coming off.
However, Brook, blindsided by Thursday’s “announcement”, was quick to dispel the idea that he would be fighting Chalmers in 2026. Taking to social media, he posted a video message to address the rumour and said, “I’m getting a lot of messages about this BKFC, but there’s absolutely no truth in me fighting in BKFC. Absolutely no truth. It’s all lies.”
While we know enough about boxers, especially retired ones, to know that what is considered false today can easily become true tomorrow, Brook’s stance on BKFC and his own future is for now clear. If his words are to be believed, he wants no part of it, he hasn’t signed up for it, and he is, as of January 9, 2026, quite content in retirement.
That doesn’t mean things are easy for the Sheffield fighter, nor that he will remain content in the coming years, but Brook, who turns 40 in May, is currently doing his best to fight temptation; the toughest opponent any retired boxer is likely to face.
All he has on the horizon now, in terms of appointments, is a February 13 exhibition bout in Dubai, where Brook will perform on a remembrance night for Ricky Hatton in support of Hatton’s foundation.
