I was in a dark place I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy
BOXING BROOK FIGHTS BACK FROM ROCK BOTTOM
KELL BROOK says he will carry the mental scars of a harrowing defeat into Saturday night’s comeback fight against Sergey Rabchenko at Sheffield Arena.
Brook returned this week to the home of his beloved Sheffield United where he lost his IBF welterweight crown to American star Errol Spence Jr in May.
He left the ring after the 11th-round stoppage with a fractured left eye socket and shattered pride.
As he rested his head against the wooden panel of the dressing room bench, he spoke of the “bad memories” looking back at his second defeat in 38 professional fights.
Frustration
“This woodwork here in this dressing room, just looking around, it does bring it back, definitely,” he said.
Brook finished his sentence by letting out a grunt of frustration which said more than his words.
The loss sent Brook spiralling into depression, “a dark place he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy”. It also led him to the brink of wrecking his relationship with partner ®Êby CHRIS McKENNA Lindsey and their children as he “pushed them away”.
Booze, partying, and anything but boxing was the main agenda for a man who had hit rock bottom and seriously considered quitting the sport.
But Brook, 31, will step through the ropes again because of those bad memories and his stoppage defeat by Gennady Golovkin in 2016, when he broke his right eye socket.
He believes he has unfinished business as he moves up to light-middleweight with two metal plates in his face, and is aiming to be remembered as a great fighter rather than a broken one.
“I want people talking about me again, I want people saying, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen him fight like that, I’ve never seen anyone do that’,” he said.
“I don’t want to be remembered as the man with two broken eyes. It’s about myself. I can’t leave it like that. I’ve got more to give.
“Now I’m made of steel, literally, there will be no stopping me. Nothing can break.
“I am in a happier place. We are going to see on Saturday if I can still fight or not. I believe the best is yet to come.
“I was drying out like a rat at welterweight and it was a miracle every time I made it. Now I’m at my perfect weight. I won’t fade in fights.” 8