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Kell Brook has officially announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 36. TalkSPORT's Michael Benson reported the news on his Twitter.
Brook has ended his sensational career with a record of 40 wins and three losses. He defeated Shawn Porter to become the IBF Welterweight Champion in 2014 and recently beat his longtime rival Amir Khan.
Brook has also shared the ring with some of the best fighters in the world, such as Gennadiy Golovkin, Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford. Despite producing an impressive performance against Khan in February and subsequent speculation to fight Chris Eubank Jr., the man from Sheffield has decided to hang up his gloves.
Here is what Brook said in an interview with The Telegraph:
"I'd just like to be remembered as a fighter who would go in with anyone, feared no one and gave the fans what they wanted."
The legacy of Kell Brook
Unlike many top boxers, Kell Brook did not start his professional career with an Olympic background. In the early stages, Brook fought in small hall shows and leisure centers across the UK.
'The Special One' had his first taste of success when he defeated Barrie Jones in 2008 to capture the British Welterweight Championship. His next step-up in competition would come against Krzysztof Bienias, whom he beat to win the WBO Intercontinental Welterweight Title in 2010.
Two years later, Kell Brook faced an experienced contender in Matthew Hatton in his home city of Sheffield. He dominated Hatton over 12 rounds to claim a wide unanimous decision and boost his status in the UK.
One of Brook's toughest fights came against Carson Jones in 2012. 'Special K' struggled to deal with the American's strength but was still awarded a majority decision by the judges. However, in their rematch a year later, Brook won more convincingly by claiming a stoppage victory in the eighth round.
In 2014, Kell Brook finally got his opportunity to fight for a world title by taking on Porter. The Sheffield boxer produced one of the most accomplished performances of his career by beating the American in his own backyard.
Watch the full fight between Kell Brook and Shawn Porter:
Despite this outstanding win, Brook struggled to schedule any lucrative fights. This encouraged him to move up two weight divisions and fight Golovkin in 2016. The Kazakh was too big and strong and gave Brook the first loss of his career.
'The Special One' decided to take another tough fight immediately after the loss, against Errol Spence Jr. in 2017. He started brightly but 'The Truth' proved too relentless and won via stoppage in the 11th round.
After a few comeback fights against mediocre opposition, Brook stepped up once again in 2020. This time it was to challenge one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world in Crawford. 'Bud' landed a seemingly innocuous-looking shot in the fourth round to get the stoppage.
Brook was out of the ring for two years before he finally got a chance to face his bitter rival Khan. He dominated the Bolton boxer over six rounds to realize one of the best moments of his career.
