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KELL OF A CHANGE
Kell Brook reveals body transformation after losing FOUR stone following 14-months out of ring and ballooning to 15st
KELL BROOK has shed a whopping FOUR stone in his last-ditch bid to squeeze a second world title belt around his waist.
The Sheffield ace endured a miserable 2019, ballooning up to 15st as a string of major fights fell through.
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The former IBF welterweight king returns from his 14-month absence on Saturday night against Mark DeLuca at the 11st super-welter limit he can make with ease.
But he insists, after a gruelling camp, he can still burn off a few more pounds and become a two-time champ down at his old 10st 7lb division.
Brook told SunSport: “I have been training for about seven months now, when I first got back I was massive, around 15st.
“I started slowly and made baby steps and slowly picked the pace up.
“I should have boxed in December but that fell through, the old me would have thrown my toys out of the pram and enjoyed Christmas but this time I trained all the way through and I am so happy because I am in a great position and I feel fantastic.”
Tyson Fury famously melted 10st off his 6ft 9in frame to complete his boxing comeback in 2018 but Brook is a whole foot shorter so would have found the slog even harder.
The father of two has been chasing fights with old enemy Amir Khan as well as champions Manny Pacquiao and Terrence Crawford and he is eager for rematch revenge over Errol Spence, who shattered his cheekbone in 2017.
After the DeLuca tune-up, any of those stellar names will whet the Sheffield United fan’s appetite and he will definitely not be scoffing himself out of shape again.
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He said: “I have had some dark times, it was a frustrating 2019.
“I was pushing for the Terence Crawford fight but, through no fault of my own, I did not get any of the big fights I wanted.
“It has been frustrating so I took time out, being told ‘your time is coming’ and it doesn’t, it is hard to take, but this is the fight game.
“I trained all over Christmas and kept myself at a good weight, that means my body is moving a lot better than usual because I am not working on losing pound-after-pound in the gym, I am just training on boxing and not losing weight.”
A second world title will be a fairytale ending for Brook, whose life has resembled a gory horror movie in the past.
In 2015 he was the victim of a machete attack while in Tenerife and eight years earlier he was slashed repeatedly while on a night out in Sheffield.
Trainer Dominic Ingle wants him to have a couple more big-money fights before releasing a bloody autobiography he reckons would race to the top of the rankings.
Ingle said: “Kell’s life story would be a bestseller, he has almost been killed twice and not even in the ring.
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“How many people have you ever heard of getting stabbed twice in two different incidents and surviving?
“Kell will be 34 in May and has been through the mill.
"Hopefully he has one or two more fights, gets the big money he deserves and then walks away at the top.
“When he can no longer drag himself out of his comfy bed at 7am, in his million-pound house, jump into his luxury car and wave goodbye to his beautiful wife and kids to come to a freezing cold gym to train himself to the bone, then it is time to pack it up.”
Kell Brook works out as he prepares for his return to the ring to fight Mark DeLuca
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