Steel City fighter Kell Brook has come too far to let a horrific machete attack derail his ambitions for greatness.
The Sheffield boxer fought hard to rip the IBF World Welterweight Championship belt from the grip of Shawn Porter – the ‘147lb Mike Tyson’.
But he has had to fight even harder to overcome the serious leg wound he suffered in a knife attack in Tenerife last September.
A big thank you for all the support and messages to @SpecialKBrook pic.twitter.com/ScO4RL68Fv
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) September 5, 2014
Brook thought he was never going to walk again – never mind box.
So to be walking out at Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena to defend his title against Romanian Jo Jo Dan for the first time tomorrow night is huge.
He is unbreakable, and still undefeated in the ring with 33 victories to his name.
The 28-year-old is a man on a mission in a stacked welterweight division. Brook is already eyeing potential fights with fellow Brit Amir Khan and even the winner of Mayweather and Pacquiao on May 2nd.
But he knows he has to do the business against mandatory challenger Dan first of all. And he is ready to make a real statement to the division’s big hitters on home turf.
“I’ve got Jo Jo Dan in front of me,” he told Sky Sports. “He’s the mandatory and he’s earned the right to be in the position he is in and there is no doubt that he is going to be 100 per cent ready for this fight.
“I’m going to have my hands full, but all I can say is that the fans are in for a real treat.
“If he’s going to give it like he is saying he is, then believe you me, I’m going to give it because there is nobody that is taking my title away.”
If anybody had doubts about Brook’s world class credentials, the stunning victory against Porter will have silenced them.
Now it is on Brook to prove he has put the knife attack nightmare behind him to push on to the very top.
Dan will provide a stern test – the 33-year-old is a tricky southpaw with only two defeats from 34 fights.
So what an amazing comeback it would be if Brook put him to the sword in spectacular fashion tomorrow night.
