Kell Brook may well be retired but it appears that he could be ready to return.
The former IBF welterweight world champion bowed out from the sport last May, just a few months after securing a stoppage win over long-time rival Amir Khan.
Brook, who ended the challenge of a faded Khan inside six rounds at Manchester’s AO Arena last February, exclusively live on Sky Sports Box Office, has been open about his emotional struggle without the structure of professional boxing in his life — and that was perhaps most apparent recently when a tabloid newspaper obtained and shared a video of him sniffing white powder.
The Sheffield fighter, who won the world title on away soil against Shawn Porter back in 2014, apologized after the video emerged and told his fans that he was seeking help.
But it seems that the idea of a comeback has been fueled rather than dampened by the latest news headlines –– with Ben Shalom confirming the 36-year-old’s desire to don the gloves one final time.
“I know Kell Brook wants to fight again,” the Boxxer chief said in an interview with iD Boxing. “He doesn’t want that [the video] to be his lasting memory and I’ve spoken already on that.
“But he always wanted one more fight. It has to be the right fight.”
There was talk, prior to Shalom’s comments, that Brook would target the winner of last month’s middleweight clash between Chris Eubank Jr. and Liam Smith.
Liverpool’s Smith took out the Brighton man inside four rounds at the same venue as Brook stopped Khan, but it was revealed on Tuesday that Eubank Jr. intends on activating the rematch clause in his deal with ‘Beefy’.
Smith, the former WBO super-welterweight world champion, has made clear that he wants to stay at 160lbs in the wake of his demolition of the son of Chris Eubank, but a big-money offer to face Brook at a lighter weight may tempt him away from that.
“I think, to be honest, 154 [pounds], for Kell, is probably the right weight for him,” Shalom added, “and Liam Smith obviously has fought there all his career, so that’s definitely a possibility.”