Brook: 'I feared for my life'
Kell Brook is more determined than ever to return to boxing and defend his IBF welterweight title after the stabbing incident that threatened to not only end his career, but his life as well.
Less than a month after earning his first world title, following a majority points win over Shawn Porter in California, Brook’s livelihood was on the line when he was stabbed in the leg while on holiday in Tenerife.
The unbeaten Sheffield fighter says he was the “victim of an unprovoked attack” in the early hours of September 4, when a conversation between himself and his attacker in the assailant’s apartment, following an evening of drinking, turned sour.
“Without warning or caution, one swipe,” Brook said in an interview with the Daily Mail. “I was a victim of an unprovoked attack. Without warning, I was getting (hit with a) machete by this guy to my leg.
“This guy was stood over me, shouting and swearing. I am trying to scramble away. I was thinking about my daughter, that I need to get away. I was covered in blood, panicking, feeling so drained and weak from the loss of blood. I feared for my life.”
The 28-year-old managed to flee from his attacker – who, according to the Daily Mail, has not been found – and raise the alarm at a nearby apartment but not before he had lost a significant amount of blood.
He was subsequently operated on while in hospital and although he has no feeling around the wound in his left leg, he hopes to make a full recovery.
“They wheeled me out of the hospital in Tenerife and the fresh air hit me and I was just thanking my lucky stars,” he said. “It felt so good to see my family and think, ’I am here, still alive’. Small things make me smile.
“Around the (wound) area there is no feeling. The doctor said it might never come back. It is numb, like when you go to the dentist, but I believe in thinking positive and think I will make a full recovery. The knife went through two muscles, but the operation was a success and blood is getting to those muscles.”
Top of Brook’s agenda once he is able to make a return to the ring is settling a score with British rival Amir Khan although Brook would relish a bout with pound-for-pound superstar Floyd Mayweather, who will face Argentinian slugger Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“I’m thinking positive because I have to, but believe me, I will get better and then I’ll smash Amir Khan,” he added. “Nothing will stop me from coming back and defending (my belt). Nothing.
“The dream scenario would then be to fight Floyd Mayweather. I’m a young lion and I believe I can be one of the greats.”
