‘THERE WILL BE SO MUCH DRAMA’
Declan Taylor is out in Fuerteventura to hear Kell Brook explain all about the Gennady Golovkin effect, dropping weight, and the threat of Errol Spence Jnr
KELL, you’re back here in Fuerteventura for your training camp. What is it about this place that keeps bringing you back? It’s lovely here. Obviously in May and June the weather gets better back home but it’s like this here all year round. The weather is spot on and you’re just focused when you’re out here. We just train, go back and eat together. We might go for a stroll on the beach and talk boxing. There are no distractions. Nobody says, ‘Can you come and open this?’ ‘Can you take the kids to this?’ Out here it’s just boxing. I can really get into it.
This is very much the quiet end of the island. What does a typical day entail?
I’ll just wake up and go to the gym. I’ll head back for breakfast and then I’m straight on my phone, checking social media and having a little look about. I might Facetime my family, and go for a stroll. I have quite a few coffees during a normal day too. Then I’ll head back to the gym in the afternoon and train. It’s just chilled. Obviously we train hard and then chill. I’ll have massages and spend time in the spa to recover.
Sounds like plenty of down time. What do you do to stave off the boredom?
Play crazy golf but I’m not really that good. I stick it in the trees most of the time. It’s always on a toss of a coin who wins and it can get quite heated. I also go jet skiing, scuba diving, whatever someone mentions we will do. Nowt is really planned, it’s just whatever we do to pass time and have a bit of fun.
When you say there are no distractions here do you mean people wanting pictures all the time – or do you mean bars, nightclubs and fast food?
I think it’s a bit of both really. It’s just cutting everything like that away. Over here there is none of that. When I’m at home there are friends wanting you here and there, they want to knock about with you, all that is rubbish really. You’ve got a lot of family commitments. My missus doesn’t work but she might be having her nails done or whatever, then I’ve got to have the kids for an hour or two here and there.
But it must be hard being away from your partner and two daughters?
As much as I like the time with them, I can’t be doing that with a fight like this. I can’t be tied up. It’s life back home but when I’m here there are no distractions. I’m with my team so if I’m having a low day they are there to get me through it. I can talk to them. It all ➤
I’M WITH MY TEAM SO IF I’M HAVING A LOW DAY THEY ARE THERE TO GET ME THROUGH IT. I CAN TALK TO THEM”
➤
helps and it all works, that’s why I get so focused when I’m here. Back home you never get away from it.
You said she bares the brunt of your moods when you’re making weight. Does being out here mean she gets to avoid all that?
Yeah, it does actually. I’m away from her so she’s not getting it in the neck. I have my low days but overall I think I’ve got my mind round it. When I took the fight I knew how difficult it would be to get down to the weight again. I knew I’d be dieting but still having two or three different big sparring partners pushing me in every session when I’m low on energy. I’ve just got to deal with that.
We’re only a short flight away from Tenerife where you were stabbed in 2014. Does coming to the Canary Islands bring back any bad memories in that sense?
To be honest, not really no. I know Tenerife is just across the water but it doesn’t really enter my head when I have other things going on in my life. I have my training, my family and everything else. I don’t really sit back and think about what happened that night. I’ve closed the book on that one and opened a new chapter since then. I don’t really give it a second thought these days.
Do you think what happened that night and your subsequent recovery has had a lasting effect on your life?
Absolutely it did. You take it for granted don’t you? If you break your arm or something like that, it makes you realise how lucky you were before it was broken. It has definitely done something to me and how I live my life. I could have never walked again – or died. I’m just happy to be in this position and where I am today.
Do you feel like you’ve matured as a person over the last few years?
Absolutely. You never stop learning and everything that has happened in my career, my ups and downs, mean I know myself now. I know that taking myself out of certain situations is working for me. I think I’m realising how I tick now.
And does that new maturity make you a better fighter?
I think so. Although I didn’t get the win against [Gennady] Golovkin, I think being in a big event was good for me. The fight might have been a negative but I took all the positives from that. I believe that I belong at this level now. When I’m dealing with sparring partners, two or three different guys who are super-middleweights while I’m a drained welterweight, that gives me belief. I know with a bit of rest and the right food what I can do.
Tell us about the role of your nutritionist Greg Marriott in getting you back down to welterweight again?
He knows what I like and what I don’t like, he knows me inside out. He knows when to push me and when not to. He knows about my mood swings and everything else. To be honest, I thought after going up to middleweight and putting all that muscle on, it would be absolutely terrible getting back down this time. It is terrible getting down to welterweight but I thought it would be a lot harder.
How bad has it actually been?
Well we are talking 10 days out and I’m happy, smiling, drinking plenty of water and eating a lot of food but still making welterweight. I think it’s down to the team who have worked me out. Also I’ve got it in my mind now that I’m not looking forward to meals and enjoying the taste of them, I just use them as fuel. It’s all about the mindset.
Have you done anything differently for this camp with such a big drop from middleweight?
I think Greg always tries different things for weight loss, different food and everything else. We’ve also been doing a lot of cycling which burns a lot of calories and raises endurance. Diet-wise there have been changes, different vegetables and fruits at different times. It gets really in depth on the nutrition side of things but I just get given a plate and I just eat what’s on it. I don’t think much more about it.
History shows us that boxers who go up in weight often struggle when they drop back down. Is that a concern?
I don’t really look at that. It’s more about this fight and how I’ve been feeling in training. I know people go up in weight and when they come back down they are maybe not the
IT IS TERRIBLE GETTING DOWN TO WELTERWEIGHT BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A LOT HARDER”
same as they were but I’ve been in the gym and feeling pretty good – as good as I always have when I made welterweight before. I think I’ll be fine coming back down to welterweight but until I get in the ring on fight night nobody will really know. I believe that I’m going to be very fresh.
How long will you stay at 147lbs?
I won’t be here forever. I know this is going to be a very tough fight but I’d like to fight Keith Thurman at the end of the year and unify the division before moving up.
People are very excited about Errol Spence Jnr and many are predicting he will beat you on May 27. Does that motivate you?
I don’t really need motivating. Everyone has got their own opinion but we’ve seen it time and time again in boxing where we think a certain fighter will come out victorious and it goes the other way. That’s why you’ve got to love the sport.
What do you think of of him?
I really do think this is going to be my toughest test. People might say I’ve been in with Golovkin but this Spence is a young, hungry fighter and he’s like I was when I went into my world title fight with Shawn Porter. This is his chance now and he’s going to be really determined. He’s young, fit and at the peak of his powers, but I’m going to give him questions he’s never been asked before. Will he be able to answer them?
You’ve stopped every southpaw you’ve ever fought. That must give you confidence?
I do love a southpaw. A lot of people don’t like fighting them but I’m the southpaw slayer. That’s what they call me. I have the Ingle style and I’ve seen every style. I can figure guys out. I’m hoping the styles gel well.
How does the fight go?
I see it being a classic. I think this will be a Naseem Hamed v Kevin Kelley type of fight, I really do. I think we might both hit the canvas, I think there will be a lot of drama in this fight. But I just feel I’m the better overall fighter, I’m more determined and I believe I will come out with the win.
Talking of Naz, many people regard him as the Ingle gym’s most famous graduate. Do you think beating Spence at Bramall Lane might make you No. 1?
I haven’t really thought about it. I think everyone has left their own mark from the gym. I don’t think we are outdoing each other. Naz is really hard to beat because he was a special talent; flash and brash and he had great punching power for his weight. He was one on his own. I think I’m not too far behind and I’m just looking to do what I’m supposed to do in this game before it’s all over.
You’re obviously very popular in Sheffield. Do you plan on keeping a low profile when you’re back for fight week?
I’ll see my missus and stay a night or two at home but I will probably stay for most of it in a hotel just out of town to try and stay away from everything. That way I can concentrate on the job in hand. I’ve got to make sure it’s spot on for this one. I can’t afford to make any mistakes against Spence.
You know how hard it was going to your opponent’s country to win your world title, could this be a difficult week for Spence?
It might be but I think if you can fight it doesn’t matter where you go. If you believe in what you’ve got it doesn’t matter where you are. It might affect him slightly but he’s done the hard work now. After what happened in the London Olympics he might be thinking, ‘I lost the last time I was in the UK’. I hope he does. Time will tell how he will cope under those bright lights.
Will there be a Bramall Lane effect?
He knows he will be up against it with the crowd and stuff but really it’s just going to be me and him. It depends how he approaches it and how he takes it on board. But it has been a good adventure and I’m looking forward to this fight, fighting at Bramall Lane and being back home. It hasn’t been done since 1985 when Herol “Bomber” Graham did it. This is new history. I am so ready. bn