Former IBF Welterweight world champion, Kell Brook, apologized on social media following a video being leaked of him sniffing a powdered substance on a table. The British ex-champion announced his retirement in the summer of 2022, not long after defeating long-time rival and fellow Brit, Amir Khan in February of the same year.
Kell Brook’s last match against Amir Khan was a dominant win for him as he stopped Khan in just the sixth round of their contest. With the two having long-been slated to fight since first becoming world champions around a decade before, their last match came a bit too late as both had already gone through various battles throughout their career. Following his win over Amir Khan, Kell Brook’s name was briefly linked to the likes of Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn before he confirmed his retirement from the sport.
A video of “The Special One”, as Brook had been called throughout his career, allegedly snorting cocaine circulated around the internet around a week ago, prompting over his mental health. In a short but emotional Twitter post, Kell Brook has revealed his struggles following his retirement as he apologized – and thereby confirmed – for him snorting cocaine on aforementioned video.
“I messed up. I hold my hands up and want to apologize to my family, gym, friends and fans. It’s no secret that I struggle with mental health and I’m finding retirement really hard. I’m actively seeking the help I need to get me on the right path. Again, I apologize for the hurt I’ve caused.” Kell Brook stated on his Twitter account on February 2.
The video shows Kell Brook snorting what has now been confirmed to be cocaine, where after he lightly shadow boxed as if to indicate that the drug had boosted him. As one of the more well-known British champions of the modern era, his act obviously came paired with shock by many of those that admired him.
Contemporaries in the sport, including boxing promoter Lou DiBella and sportswriter Dan Rafael, offered support to Kell Brook who has already vowed to seek help for his mental health issues.
Kell Brook is best known for his fights with renowned boxers such as Gennady Golovkin, Errol Spence Jr. and Shawn Porter. He first started his professional career in 2004 following a relatively short but successful stint as an amateur where he racked up 31 wins in 36 matches. As a Welterweight, Kell Brook found the most success in his career.
Brook first received some renown when he defeated Matthew Hatton, brother of former world champion Ricky Hatton, by unanimous decisions. In 2014 he scored a close majority decision win over Shawn Porter. After defending his title three times in the subsequent two years, Kell Brook briefly moved up two divisions to face then-unified and unbeaten Middleweight champion, Gennady Golovkin in 2016. Though undoubtedly exciting, Brook suffered his first loss against the Kazakhstani fighter when his orbital bone broke and the match was stopped in favor of Golovkin.
Around a year after, Brook faced Errol Spence Jr. in another losing effort where he was knocked out in the 11th round. Following his two back-to-back losses, Brook’s career seemed to take sort of a downspin as he fought lesser opponents while seeking to get back in form. A win over Super Welterweight contender Michael Zerafa in 2018 briefly spoke of a possible resurgence to the top, and in 2020 he received a world title opportunity against WBO Welterweight champion Terence Crawford who stopped him in the 4th round. Brook thereafter fought Amir Khan and has been retired ever since.
Kell Brook is not the only boxer to have been known to use cocaine. Mike Tyson, Tyson Fury, Sugar Ray Leonard and Joe Calzaghe are just some of the names that have been revealed to use cocaine either after their professional boxing careers ended – whether temporarily or permanently.
With his mind now set on recuperating, we wish Brook all the best in his retirement and hope he will transcend his troubles to become a proper representative of the sport of boxing. With his collective experience as a fighter that has boxed for nearly two decades and become a world champion during his tenure as a professional, he can offer plenty of encouragement and support to up-and-coming boxers, as well as become a key personnel when it comes to analyzing fights, coaching and even matchmaking given his charisma, articulacy and expertise as a veteran and prolific fighter.
