By Nick Parkinson, courtesy of The Daily Star
KELL BROOK insists he is not a broken boxer after busting both eye sockets in his last two fights.
The former world champion makes his debut as a light-middleweight against Belarusian Sergey Rabchenko in his home city of Sheffield on Saturday.
Brook lost his IBF world welterweight title when he was stopped in the 11th round by American Errol Spence Jr in May, suffering a broken left orbital bone.
In his previous fight, Brook fractured his right eye socket after jumping up two weight divisions to challenge world middleweight No.1 Gennady Golovkin.
With a bit of help from Muhammad Ali, Brook is back in business as he eyes a future showdown with British rival Amir Khan, who returns after nearly two years out on April 21.
He said: “Of course there are concerns about it. Like, why did it happen twice? When the first one went the other one is going to become weaker, I’ve been told.
“But my surgeon, who’s called Muhammad Ali, has checked me out and says the bones have healed.
“I’ve had titanium plates in both eyes so it’s mended and I’ve been sparring with heavier guys and not had any problems. It’s only a problem when I go through airports at security.
“I hope the Amir Khan fight gets made. We’ve got the same promoter, Eddie Hearn, now and it’s in the promoter and fighters’ interests to make the fight happen. It’s the biggest fight out there for us, it’s like Mayweather-Pacquiao but in Britain.”
Brook, 31, is feeling the benefits of operating at a new weight division.
He said: “It’s a lot more fun, it’s a lot less worrying especially in the back half of the training camp.
“I know I’m going to make weight now whereas before there was not knowing whether I was going to do it. It’s been nice to have been able to eat more this time and worry less.”
2023-10-20 12:34:48
