Former world champion Kell Brook was filmed snorting off a table in a video that has since gone viral on social media.
“The Special One” is seen taking an extensive line of white powder up his nose with his IBF welterweight title in the background.
As Brook sniffs it back, there’s even a photo of himself next to the paraphernalia. He then pretends to land a combination once the hit lands in his brain.
Kell Brook was filmed snorting
It’s a shocking clip to watch as a one-time successful fighter is reduced to allegedly taking illegal drugs on camera.
Brook’s team has since denied that the substance was cocaine and stated the Sheffield man ‘did it as a joke’ when asked for comment.
You need better friends and people around you @SpecialKBrook pic.twitter.com/d6giumgKeB
— knighty (@_lknighty) January 29, 2023
However, it’s been no secret to World Boxing News [and many others] for years. Brook’s outside-of-the-ring lifestyle did not match his chosen career.
In 2007, Brook got stabbed in the buttocks in a nightclub. Seven years later, he was shanked in the leg and slashed on his arm in Tenerife.
Both incidents were due to Brook’s party lifestyle that he’s been unable to curb since entering the sport. To some, it’s been a surprise that Brook made it that far in his career due to his ballooning in weight between camps.
This time around, Brook has been caught red-handed, with two reactions from startled fans over the incident.
Brook ‘stitched up’
One is that Brook ‘got stitched up’ by one of his friends who sold the video to a tabloid. The other is that Brook is a bad example to youngsters who aspire to be world champions one day.
The fact Brook was able to enjoy success while going off the rails in between bouts is not the future of the sport. Ricky Hatton proved this when losing to Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao before retiring at the tender age of 31.
He returned for a fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko three years later – but lost. His years of going out drinking with mates ended his tenure before he could reach the Hall of Fame level.
Hatton is still waiting for induction, which would have been a certainty if he’d gone on to win another world title instead of stepping away.
Wake-up call
For Brook, his excuses don’t wash with many involved in boxing who know the situation precisely.
Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call for the retired boxer, who did harbor hopes of returning to the ring in 2023.
Authorities will indeed be monitoring the situation if he decides on a comeback.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay. Twitter @PhilJWBN. Follow WBN: Facebook, Insta, Twitter.
