Kell Brook has to re-evaluate his lifestyle outside the ring after a viral video of his extracurricular activity added to being stabbed twice during his life.
Despite denials that Brook snorted drugs in a video shared widely on social media, reports about the Yorkshireman’s wayward behavior have dogged him for years.
Gaining weight between bouts, delays to fights, and shocking incidents have all been part and parcel of Kell Brook since he broke onto the major UK scene.
Kell Brook has been stabbed twice
When attacked in a nightclub in 2007 and again in Tenerife seven years later, those shanking incidents were solely down to Brook being out partying.
Both incidents could have been a lot worse, especially the second, as Brook explained to The Daily Mail at the time.
“I was a victim of an unprovoked attack,’ Brook told The Mail just one month after winning the world title from Shawn Porter in the United States. “Without warning, I was getting [sliced with a] machete by this guy to my leg.
“The next minute, I tried to find my feet, but my leg wasn’t working. There was so much blood spurting out, and it was a tile floor.
“I lost my balance and fell. I remember scrambling about, trying to get out. But I needed to get out. I could see death.
“This guy stood over me, shouting and swearing. I’m trying to scramble away. I was thinking about my daughter, and I need to get away.
“I was covered in blood, panicking. And I was feeling so drained and weak from the loss of blood. I feared for my life.”
Brook survived and, luckily, was able to continue his career. However, the rumors surrounding his partying ways never subsided.
Party lifestyle is no secret
When exclusively interviewed by World Boxing News, rival Amir Khan commented on Brook four years after the life-threatening stabbing.
“What he does outside the ring is nothing to do with me,” Khan told WBN. “The Kell Brook fight is one of the reasons why I signed up with Eddie Hearn.
“I think a fight with him is definitely a possibility.
“The way he has a lifestyle of partying and drinking and everything else, he needs to stay patient. When it’s the right time, the fight will happen.”
They eventually fought in 2022, with Brook coming out on top via stoppage before walking away from the sport.
Months on, and what looks to be a scandal, is simply the culmination of what many know comes with the Kell Brook territory.
Detractors have already decided to re-christen his walk-in song ‘All of the Lines’ as Brook considers a comeback. However, working on himself first should be the order of the day for the ex-world titleholder.
Rather than issuing weak dismissals of his misdemeanor, maybe Brook should face the music, admit his mistake, and seek help.
Should he return, having a fit and healthy Kell Brook in boxing is a far better scenario than denying the event ever happened.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay. Twitter @PhilJWBN. Follow WBN: Facebook, Insta, Twitter.
