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Brook & Galahad Fit And Firing For Feb 8
January 9 2020
Sheffield duo Kell Brook and Kid Galahad went through their paces at a media day in London ahead of February 8’s huge night at the FlyDSA Arena.
‘The Special One’ returns to the ring after a year out to face the tough Mark DeLuca, looking to make a statement in his home city and prove that he is still a force to be reckoned with at both 154 or 147lbs.
A win sets up some big fights for Brook later this year but the American will be no easy touch, having only been stopped once in his 25 professional outings.
Seven months on from his first professional defeat against Josh Warrington, Galahad can secure mandatory position and a second shot at the IBF Title if he can get past former Olympian, Claudio Marrero in a Final Eliminator for the 126lbs crown.
Speaking ahead of his February 8 return, Brook said:
“I feel great, I feel good. We’re four weeks out, I’m on weight, my training is going great. I’m ready to fight, I’d be ready to fight next week. It feels good to be preparing for a fight again. I’m fighting back in Sheffield, we know what we get from the fans – amazing support. It’s always an amazing atmosphere in the arena.
“DeLuca is in front of me, an ex marine, a very fit fighter, very strong, he’s going to come over here like it’s his World Title fight. The fans are in for a real treat and I can’t wait to give them that treat. I can’t wait to perform and for the crowd to get behind me and push me on.
“Dom has watched DeLuca live a few times and I’ve seen little bits of him. I don’t really watch tapes of my opponents but I’ll watch a bit more of him in the next couple of weeks and then basically just listen to Dom and the game plan. The it’s just about getting in there and executing it.
“At the beginning of last year it was frustrating because I was trying to get the Terence Crawford fight to happen. I was trying to make a few fights happen but they never materialised. 2019 was frustrating at first but then I was just enjoying my time with my little girls, went travelling about a little bit but then I started getting a bit bored and thought boxing is where I belong and I need to give some more of myself to the fans. I’ve got unfinished business and I want to give all I’ve got.
“I want whoever holds a belt, I want to be a two-time World Champion this year. I want to be on everybody’s lips, ‘I can’t believe what this guy’s done. I can’t believe it. What’s happened? He’s the main man again’. That’s what I’m aiming for.”
Although another World Title tilt is in touching distance, Galahad is leaving no stone unturned in his preparation for Marrero:
“I am fully focused at the moment on Claudio Marrero who is very dangerous and I’m sure this will be a difficult fight for me to win. He has great amateur pedigree as a former Olympian with the Dominican Republic, he’s only lost to high calibre boxers and he can punch.
“I’ve got to do a number on this kid and get him out the way. I have trained very hard for this fight and I will raise to the occasion, step up my game and be ready for whatever he brings to the table on February 8.
“I’ve got to be 100% ready and I can’t afford to make any mistakes because if I do that could be the end of the night for me.
“The day after my last fight I went back to the drawing board and straight back in the gym. I don’t believe that I lost that fight but the judges saw it a different way so next time I’ve got to make sure I don’t leave the decision to them.
“I believe the IBF is the best governing body and that’s why I’ve gone back down that route. I have got unfinished business and the IBF crown is the title that I want but I have challenges to overcome between now and then, if I don’t win this fight then there is no World Title fight for me.”
“On February 8 you should expect fireworks and a boxing lesson from myself!”