History Brook

LOSING TO SPENCE HURT, BUT NOW I’M BETTER THAN EVER...

KELL BROOK admits he needs to prove himself all over again when he makes his comeback tonight against Sergey Rabchenko.

Brook has had to rebuild his shattered career – along with his fractured left eye socket – since losing his cherished IBF welterweight title in a crushing defeat to Errol Spence Jnr in May (right).

Brook was also stopped in his previous fight, against middleweight king Gennady Golovkin, in September 2016, when his right eye socket was smashed.

The Steel City fighter is returning at superwelterweight against Rabchenko (both above), at Sheffield’s FlyDSA Arena, and knows many will feel he is finished.

“I’m not used to losing, but I’ve had two in a row,” said Brook, who has had a titanium plate fitted over his eye socket.

“Losing to Spence really hurt me badly. It took me a long time to get over that. I know I’ve got a lot left in me, but people are right to question what I’ve got left, and how I’m going to be after the injuries and the defeats.

“I believe I’m going to be the same fighter. In fact, I’ll be better with the bigger weight, which will bring the best out of me.” Brook, 31, who is 36-2, admits he should not have tried to come back down to welterweight to defend his title against Spence, after going up two divisions to face Golovkin at middleweight. “I do regret the Spence fight,” he said. “I was in Sheffield, we’d sold a load of tickets, and we were at Bramall Lane. But going from middleweight to welterweight was too much and it drained me. “I’ll be fresher at superwelterweight.” Brook faces Rabchenko from Belarus for the WBC Silver title, live on Sky Sports Action, and insists he can become a two-weight world champ. “I’m loving boxing again and still feel I’ve got big fights left in me before I call it a day,” he added. “I’d love to win a world title at super-welterweight.”