Kell Brook firmly believes that, under less torturous circumstances, he would have ended his career with one fewer defeat.
The former world champion claimed his IBF welterweight title in 2014, dethroning Shawn Porter with a majority decision victory on away soil.
After making three successful title defences, the Sheffield man then stepped up to middleweight for an audacious shot at Gennady Golovkin’s unified crown.
To his credit, Brook gave a strong account of himself in the early rounds, before ultimately suffering a fractured eye socket and getting pulled out by his corner in round five.
It was then around eight months later, in 2017, that the skilful technician moved back down to 147lbs for a mandated title defence against Errol Spence Jr.
By his own admission, this was far from the most sensible option for Brook, given the demanding nature of his training camp following an unsuccessful excursion to 160lbs.
Yet ‘Special K’ nonetheless rolled the dice against Spence, who was down on the scorecards but scored an 11th-round finish after Brook suffered another fractured eye socket, this time on his left side.
Reflecting on their showdown at Bramall Lane, Sheffield, Brook tells Boxing King Media that he is still haunted by the drastic weight-cut he was compelled to endure.
“That’s the fight that really haunts me the most. I was less than 30% in that fight. Fighting Golovkin the fight before – ballooning up in weight, going up to middleweight … I could go on.
“I know I would’ve beat [Spence at my best]. I was doing well even [at below 30%]. That fight was just all about making weight. It was so tough. The food was next to nothing. It was just atrocious, but that’s what happened in my career.”
After suffering a third defeat, this time via a fourth-round stoppage against Terence Crawford in 2020, Brook ended his career with a sixth-round finish over Amir Khan.
