After arguing about who got the better of the other in sparring, footage of one of the sessions shared by Conor Benn and Kell Brook has been leaked online.
Benn recently started the domestic feud by claiming Brook retired rather than face him in the ring, and mentioned a sparring session that he thought might be the reason why.
Brook fired back quickly, telling Benn that he had it wrong, and it was the younger man who quit in the gym. It was branded ‘s**t’ by the young, undefeated welterweight, who then mentioned that there was footage.
The now-retired Brook prompted him to reveal it, and whilst Benn didn’t oblige, somebody did. Boxing King Media posted the sparring session filmed on a TV screen.
The footage is said to be from two weeks before Brook’s WBO World Welterweight Title challenge against elite American, Terence Crawford, which makes it November of 2020. The Sheffield man lost by fourth round TKO, and would fight once more – a win over Amir Khan – before announcing retirement.
At that stage, Benn was undefeated in 16 fights and was preparing to face Germany’s Sebastian Formella later that month – a fight he won on points.
Whilst neither man seems to show up the other in line with the claims, there’s no doubt it’s hard sparring and competitive work. Both men have good periods, and sparring footage without context can rarely provide anything conclusive – especially when cut and edited.
One thing’s for sure, the fight would be intriguing.
If it happens is another matter entirely. Brook has returned to training this week, but a return fight could be a long way off.
As for Benn, he’s been embroiled in a doping scandal since last October and, whilst a June ring return looks likely, it seems he has a long way to go before fighting in the UK again.