Kell Brook is recovering at his stepfather's home in Sheffield after the horrific machete attack on holiday in Tenerife and Sportsmail has exclusive access
‘The
manager of the bar invited me to a party at her place with her partner
and another guy. Nothing over the top, the bars had shut and we had a
few more drinks. I guess she maybe thought I’d won a world title and
wanted to show me off.’
Brook
is not certain on timings, though it is believed to have been about
2am. He says he was ‘drunk but not hammered’ and having his first late
night in more than four months. ‘I’m not usually a drinker,’ he adds.
‘In
the bar manager’s apartment is where the guy was. That’s when I first
saw him. (After a while) the girl and her partner said they had work in
the morning, time to go. This kid was left there.
‘He
said let’s go for a drink at his apartment. I was just going with it. I
knew I would feel rough but I was coming back home (the next day) and
going straight into training for the next fight. Blow out, as they say. I
am not too used to drinking.’
It is understood that Brook and his alleged assailant, whose identity is known to Sportsmail,
walked a short distance to a nearby property. ‘I got to his place, had a
few more drinks, and got into a general chat about things. Tourism,
cars, boats. Then suddenly the mood switched. This guy started going on
about street fighting. The mood changed.
‘(He
was saying) a boxer can’t compete with a street fighter. I went from
being comfortable to it switching without reason. This place, in his
apartment, the kitchen and living room is close together. Everything is
just a hand away from you. He was in the kitchen and I was in the living
room. Without warning or caution, one swipe.’
Brook
describes the weapon as ‘like a machete’ and indicates with his hands
that the blade was about a foot long. He believes he was there ‘maybe
less than an hour’ and insists there was no retaliation, just a panicked
attempt to escape.
‘I
was a victim of an unprovoked attack,’ says Brook. ‘Without warning, I
was getting (hit with a) machete by this guy to my leg.
‘The
next minute I was trying to find my feet but my leg wasn’t working.
There was so much blood spurting out and it was a tile floor. I lost my
balance and fell. I remember scrambling about, trying to get out. I was
just thinking I need to get out. I could see death.
‘This
guy was stood over me, shouting and swearing. I am trying to scramble
away. I was thinking about my daughter, that I need to get away. I was
covered in blood, panicking, feeling so drained and weak from the loss
of blood. I feared for my life.’
Brook
escaped and is understood to have left a bloody trail to another
apartment, where he tried to raise the alarm at about 6.30am.
+17
Kell Brook knocked out Vyacheslav
Senchenko (left) at Sheffield's Motorpoint Arena to earn a shot at the
IBF welterweight title in 2013
I have been
told I got on the street, found a complex and tried to get in using a
chair (against a window), to wake a neighbour,’ he says. ‘They must have
phoned someone because the next minute I passed out. I am glad they did
because with losing all this blood I could have died.’
Brook
awoke in Candelaria Hospital in Santa Cruz after a 45-minute ambulance
journey and two hours of surgery to deal with a deep slice wound to his
left thigh. The blade cut two muscles and the damage needed 32 staples
to repair.
‘I’m
waving my arms and legs and they are trying to calm me down,’ he says.
‘They are saying, “You’re in hospital, you’re all right”.
‘I
couldn’t believe what was happening to me — “What is my missus going to
be like, she’s pregnant? How long have I been out, what day is it?” I
needed to phone her but no one can speak English.
‘I
am panicking, worrying and wondering what has happened to my leg. I was
thinking about my career, my missus, not able to move my leg. I could
feel nothing in my leg from the operation.
‘I
don’t know how much blood I lost but I was told it was a lot. I
couldn’t understand much (but) I heard “critical”. It was so scary. I
was panicking, “Will I fight again? Will I walk again?” They couldn’t
say, but they were so calm.’
Meanwhile,
Lindsey had been awoken by the Spanish police. ‘Five armed police
officers are banging on the door,’ Brook says. ‘They have run in,
saying, “passport”. She’s crying. She didn’t know what was happening. In
a right state she was.
‘They are saying I have been stabbed and not much more. What is she thinking? It has been a nightmare for her.’
Brook
is stroking the family dog — Toby, a Bichon Frise. His mother checks if
he needs another drink. ‘I’m getting waited on,’ he says. ‘Her cooking
is the best.’
He flew back on Wednesday, saw doctors on Thursday and is trying to keep a positive outlook.
+17
Kell Brook poses with his promoter
Eddie Hearn in the Tenerife hospital where he was rushed to after the
machete attack last week
‘They
wheeled me out of the hospital in Tenerife and the fresh air hit me and
I was just thanking my lucky stars,’ he says. ‘It felt so good to see
my family and think, “I am here, still alive”. Small things make me
smile.
‘Now
I have to focus on getting strong again. I am hearing better things.
They think I might make a full recovery, but it’s hard. Trying to get
about hurts a lot. When I wake there is an ache, a throbbing, from when I
have moved in the night. The doctors say I should be fine as long as I
rest.
‘Around
the (wound) area there is no feeling. The doctor said it might never
come back. It is numb, like when you go to the dentist, but I believe in
thinking positive and think I will make a full recovery. The knife went
through two muscles, but the operation was a success and blood is
getting to those muscles.’
With
the right rehabilitation Brook hopes to be running by late November.
Then his eyes are on a possible tune-up fight and the big one against
Khan.
‘The
dream scenario would then be to fight Floyd Mayweather,’ he says. ‘I’m a
young lion and I believe I can be one of the greats.’
Brook
talks about learning from the experience and rues that his
recently-acquired title might have made him a target. His assailant has
not been caught, and Brook’s lawyer, Adam Rasul, confirmed the fighter
‘had provided a full account of his injuries to the court as the victim
in this matter. In addition Mr Brook has been informed he has a right to
claim for criminal injuries’.
But Brook’s greater focus is getting back on his feet and making sure he never ‘lowers the guard again’.
His
stepfather, Terry, brings out the IBF belt he won on that tremendous
night in California, when few gave Brook a chance against the American
champion. Brook smiles. One day in the future, when this is a distant
memory, he plans to build a games room and hang it on the wall.
‘That’s my belt,’ he says. ‘Nothing will stop me from coming back and defending it. Nothing.’
+17
Kell Brook says he's 'thinking
positive because I have to' and that he is determined to come back from
the stabbing and beat Amir Khan in a fight at Wembley
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