After his epic clash with Errol Spence Jr, Kell Brook is fighting an even bigger battle for his career.
Brook needs surgery on his fractured left eye socket — completing the set after he had the right one busted last time out against Gennady Golovkin.
His surgeon, who is called Mohammed Ali, warned the Yorkshireman he could have gone blind because of the first fracture, and promoter Eddie Hearn admits the operation has cast a question mark over his future.
“I think he’ll be back,” said Hearn. “The injury is the only thing. If he’d lost on points, he’d be saying, ‘I’m moving up in weight and I’ll win world titles.’ But now he’s thinking he’s got to have that op again.
“I remember him going through that operation and it was painful, but I don’t think he’s going to want to retire.”
Brook insisted he “lives to fight another day” after quitting in the 11th round of his IPF welterweight title defence when his left eye completely closed over.
Hearn had been against the 31-year-old sweating down to 147lb after stepping up two divisions to face Golovkin at middleweight last September, and feels he should campaign at 154lb in future.
Brook appears ready to listen, even though his bitter rival Amir Khan, who was at the Spence fight, claims they could meet at welterweight next summer.
Hearn said: “He’s a competitor and that’s why he stayed at 147lb. I told him and his dad he should have gone up in weight, but Kell said no way, he wasn’t giving up his belt.
“But I just don’t think he’s strong enough going down the stretch at 147.”
Brook was gutted to lose his cherished IBF belt in front of 27,000 fans at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane ground, having shown tremendous guts to fight on for four rounds after busting his eye in the seventh.
The fight had been competitive up until then, before the unbeaten Spence showed his class.
[“source-ndtv”]
