Boxing wasn’t dead when Mike Tyson retired! Boxing wasn’t dead when Floyd Mayweather retired! However, the now-retired former IBF welterweight champion, Kell Brook, thinks boxing is dead without him. Brook hung up his gloves in 2022 after winning against career rival Amir Khan but is willing to come back to fight Conor Benn or Chris Eubank Jr.
While appearing in an interview with Lucky Block on 8 January, the 40-3 pugilist was questioned about his thoughts on making a comeback to the sport. More importantly, who would he want to make his comeback against? Here’s what he had to say!
Kell Brook is willing to put the “pipe and slippers away”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
‘Special K’ Brook and ‘The Destroyer’ Benn had clashed while ringside during a boxing event in March last year. So, the reporter asked Brook if Benn would be his next target if Brook decided to make a return. “I think in [the] driving seat for me if I did come back [would be] Chris Eubank,” Brook responded. The Sheffield resident explained because of Benn’s drug-related stint with BBBofC, a fight with him is out of the picture.
However, according to Brook, “The two names [that] could excite me and get me back in that ring [would be] Eubank or Benn.” The inactive welterweight suggested the right amount could entice him to make a comeback to the ring. He even asserted, “The right fee got mentioned…I could put the pipe and slippers away and get the running trainers back on and get on the road…. Possibly have one last dance; that’s what people everywhere I go are saying. They want me out of retirement. [They are saying] that boxing is dead without me.” Whether boxing is dead without him is up to individual interpretation, but this wasn’t the first time Brook hinted at the possibility of a return.
Brook claims his comeback against Conor Benn or Chris Eubank Jr would sell out
In an interview with BBTV Boxing on 2 December last year, the former IBF titlist claimed, “I’m retired, and we’re getting into something deep here, but, listen, I’m always up for a challenge.” Moreover, if he is offered “the right amount of Benjamins, we could do it.” He also asserted that he is the biggest name in boxing, so if he announces a return against Benn or Eubank, it will sell out quickly.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
“I’m the biggest name. If I come out of retirement and announce I’m fighting one of them two, we’ve got a sell-out straight away,” said Brook. When asked about a fight against Benn in particular, Brook claimed, “Yeah. I think so. I could get out of my silk sheets for that and train hard.” However, he wasn’t sure at that time if Benn and Eubank were fighting, so he claimed he would be watching.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
After nearly two years of his retirement, Kell Brook is willing to make a comeback but against the right opponent and for the right price. However, there hasn’t been a word regarding the same from Benn or Eubank’s corner. However, the bigger question is – would you like to see him return?
Watch This Story: Conor Benn Calls Out Jaron Ennis