Sport bosses willrule on Kell future

Brook received a second broken eye socket in consecutive defeats, fractures occurring on either side of his face. Whether it was a coincidence or the nature of injuries hint at something more sinister is something the British Boxing Board of Control will now determine.

Brook is due to have an operation on his latest injury - suffered on the left side in an 11th round stoppage at the hands of new IBF world welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.

Trainer Dom Ingle has described the wound as a slightly larger fracture than the first, but apparently easier to operate on.

General Secretary Robert Smith said: “After his previous fight (in which he was injured by Gennady Golovkin) we had reports from surgeons, their opinions and their prognosis, and submitted it to our medical panel and it was deemed appropriate to continue.

“Does having two eyes damaged make it any more dangerous? I don’t know.

“But he nor anybody else will box if there is any doubt” he said adding that a boxer’s safety is paramount.

“He has been boxing a long time so why these similar injuries happen (in back to back fights) we don’t know. We don’t know if the first injury made it weaker on the other side.

“We will receive reports from his consultant and then consider them before they go to our independent experts. We have different consultants in different fields.

“The first thing, though, is that he’s been suspended, there is no prospect of him boxing until he has fulfilled his obligations to satisfy us, medically.”

Smith said the suspension was routine.

“Anybody can be suspended, if a boxer has been stopped we can suspend him for a minimum of 28 days.”

Smith went on: “Anybody who is not deemed fit in medical opinion, we would have their license withdrawn.”

The General Secretary admitted the twin injuries to the Ingle man was new ground to him.

“I have heard of eye sockets going but nothing like this springs to mind, but the important thing is that we will be relying on specialist opinion.”

Spence’s trainer, Derrick James, has praised Brook for his courage in the Bramall Lane scrap.

“Kell Brook showed me a lot” he told Fighthype.com.

“He is a real man because any other guy would have quit way before he did. Errol was hitting him with some real hard shots and he basically took it for as long as he could take it.

“I don’t think any of those other top guys would have been able to take the shots like that. He was strong, he was more durable and a lot bigger, and he was more motivated to try and keep his title.

“But when you get your orbital bone or your cheek bone broken...maybe people don’t really understand.”