Kell Brook lucky to avoid serious injury in Gennady Golovkin clash - Eddie Hearn
Photo of scorecards show Brook was leading before the stoppage
Monday 12 September 2016 18:35, UK
Kell Brook could be in line to return to the ring next spring, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.
Brook stepped up two weight divisions to fight Gennady Golovkin for his IBF, WBC and WBA 'Super' middleweight titles on Saturday night, but his challenge ended in the fifth round when trainer Dominic Ingle threw in the towel after an onslaught from the Kazakh fighter.
'The Special One' suffered a broken eye socket during the fight - which required surgery on Monday - but Hearn does not expect the injury to jeopardise Brook's future plans.
"He's never experienced defeat and that's hurt him quite badly, let alone the broken eye socket," Hearn told Sky Sports News HQ.
"He'll be popping into the hospital in Sheffield for a little operation. It's nothing too major and it should mean he'll still probably return next spring or summer, which is about the time he would have been looking to fight again anyway.
"The injury was painful but I think the defeat was more painful. I'm just pleased he came out of the fight with no serious injuries because if an injury like that progresses during the fight it can get worse and worse and could have affected his career long-term."
On Monday afternoon, Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn tweeted a copy of the scorecards from Saturday's clash at London's O2 Arena which showed Brook was leading the contest prior to the stoppage.
Two of the judges had the scores level at 38 points apiece but the other ringside judge had Brook two rounds up, scoring the bout 39-37 after four rounds.
