Kell Brook Plots Comeback at 40, Eyes 'Massive' UK Fight

Kell Brook is coming out of retirement. The 40-year-old Sheffield man, who last laced up in 2022 for a sixth-round stoppage of long-time rival Amir Khan, told talkSPORT he's renewed his licence with the British Boxing Board of Control and expects to be back in a professional ring before the end of 2026.

Brook stopped short of naming a name, but he wasn't shy about the scale of it. He said there's a "massive" fight already close to done, and that fans won't be waiting long. The plan is to campaign north of welterweight this time — somewhere between 160 and 168lbs, either middleweight or super-middleweight.

This isn't Brook's first stab at a comeback. He was booked to face Eisa Al Dah earlier this year on a card raising money for the Ricky Hatton Foundation, but conflict in the Middle East scuppered the Dubai date. The event was reportedly shifted to Manchester, though no firm date ever surfaced.

The Career That Got Him Here

The version of Brook worth getting excited about is the one who traveled to California in 2014 and ripped the IBF welterweight belt off Shawn Porter on the American's home turf. That was peak 'Special K'. The version that showed up against Terence Crawford in 2020 was a shell of it — Crawford stopped him in the fourth. Crawford, for what it's worth, now sits at 42-0 with 31 KOs and a decision win over Canelo Álvarez to his name.

The Khan fight in 2022 was the closing chapter, or so everyone assumed. A domestic grudge match that had simmered for the better part of a decade, settled decisively inside six rounds. It felt like a clean exit.

Who's Waiting?

The obvious rumoured opponent is Chris Eubank Jr, who hasn't fought since dropping a unanimous decision to Conor Benn last November. Benn himself has moved on — the welterweight is 25-1 (14 KO) and lined up to face Ryan Garcia next. A Brook–Eubank Jr build would sell in Britain on name value alone, even if both men are well past their sharpest years.

For now it's noise and a renewed licence. But Brook insists the paperwork is basically done and the announcement is imminent. If he's telling the truth about the timeline, we'll know exactly who's across from him before 2026 is out.