Kell Brook Open To Exiting Retirement to Fight Conor Benn!
Tensions have escalated between one-time IBF welterweight champion Kell “Special K” Brook (40-3, 28 KOs) and Conor Benn (21-0, 21 KOs). Will they settle their differences in the ring?
Technically, Brook is still a retired fighter. But the pride of Sheffield, England is back in the gym. His trainer, Dominic Ingle, has said that Brook has expressed an interest in facing Benn. When videos dropped of Special K working the pads and mitts, Benn chimed in with a cheeky response on social media, which has led up to some back-and-forth trash-talk.
DO NOT POKE THE BEAR
This has revved up the engine of Special K. During an interview with UK news source Boxing King Media, the 36-year-old said he’s willing to lace up the gloves again to give Benn a lesson.
“Once a fighter, always a fighter. Conor’s been putting a few things out there . . . If his boss, Eddie (Hearn), wants to get in touch with me, and pays me my service, I’ll come out of retirement, baby. I’ll come out of retirement and show your boy how to do it.”
It’s not the first time there have been discussions about the two facing each other. There were preliminary discussions of them fighting following Brook’s sixth-round stoppage over bitter rival Amir Khan in February 2022. But Brook decided to hang up the gloves and retire.
Following that announcement, Special K hit on hard times as video surfaced of him snorting cocaine. He announced that he would seek help. Following an intervention, the Brit seems mentally, spiritually, and physically in a good place.
HERE’S THE SCENARIO
If Brook were to come back for a fight with Benn, some issues must be resolved. First and foremost, where would the fight happen? A matchup between the two makes the most sense in Great Britain. However, Benn does not have a license to fight in the UK. The BBBofC is still in the middle of an investigation of Benn following two positive PED tests in October 2022.
That aside, it seems that Brook has that urge. If Benn wants that smoke, Special K has this message for Team Benn:
“Eddie, come and see me. We’ll have a discussion . . . If it makes sense for me, and I do get that mojo back because, at the moment, I’m a retired keep-fitter. But I will get them gloves back out, I will put them boxing boots back on, and we will dance, as long as the Benjamin’s are right.”
