Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin (Triple G) of Kazakhstan and the WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO Middleweight title holder takes on the Welterweight IBF title holder Kell Brook (Special K) from Sheffield, UK on Saturday 10th September 2016.
Why is Triple G fighting a man who has always boxed 2 divisions below? It is a little complicated but the simple answer is that no one in his division wants to fight him.
He is unbeaten having won 32 of his 35 fights via knockout, some quite brutal. Indeed, Mexican Saul "Canelo" Alvarez preferred to face blown up welterweight Amir Khan and then to relinquish his WBC title rather than face Golovkin, despite making noises about facing Triple G in a unification bout. The other Middleweight title holder (WBO) Billy Joe Saunders turned down a career high pay day indicating that he wasn't ready to face clearly the best boxer of the division.
http://www.trbimg.com/img-562324d7/turbine/la-sp-boxing-golovkin-lemieux-20151018
Other options? There was a fight in the works with Chris Eubank Jr. the British Middleweight title holder, but due to demands from his legendary boxing father, the deal fell apart. Eddie Hearn, Eubank Jr.'s promoter, then offered the fight to Kell Brook, another fighter that he promotes.
Why would Kell Brook take this fight and move up 2 weight classes to fight someone feared in his division?
Brook has struggled to find any opponent of note since winning a split decision against Shawn Porter for the IBF title in 2014, the best win on his CV. Since then a string of underwhelming mandatory challengers and voluntary defences have been easy victories but the big money fight that Brook has craved has been difficult to find.
This is a different scenario to Golovkin as part of the problem seems to be Brook himself, who has only fought outside the UK twice and prefers to stay in his native Sheffield, making it difficult to attract quality opponents as well as US TV scheduling which usually has an evening time slot locally.
Brook has chased a big money domestic fight against the more well-known Amir Khan who is coming off a defeat against then Middleweight WBC Champion Canelo Alvarez after himself jumping 2 weight divisions, and with their simmering enmity it was unlikely to happen anytime soon. Jesse Vargas was willing to put up his Welterweight WBO title in a unification bout but it appeared that the post-Brexit fall in the British currency and the money guaranteed to Vargas in US dollars made the fight difficult, as well as rumours that Brook would be paid significantly less. With this agreement floundering and no obvious opponents, the Golovkin-Eubank Jr. fight also in trouble, it was a convenient option in the time frame and the contract Chris Eubank Jr. had had was quickly agreed with Kell Brook set to earn millions.
It can be seen as a win-win situation from Brook's point of view. His IBF Welterweight title is not on the line and a the publicity of this fight may lead to more opportunities in his home division. There is no shame in losing to Golovkin when everyone else in the division is avoiding him for good reason. Very few believe there is any Middleweight that can defeat Triple G. Brook has had much success by being oversized for the Welterweight division and is probably a more natural Junior Middleweight. Moving to Middleweight should therefore not be as big a step as Amir Khan took to face Canelo Alvarez.
How do the fighters look pre-fight?
Brook generally gains a lot of weight between fights and has complained about the difficulty in cutting weight to meet the Welterweight weight limits. The common practice of mainly water weight cutting and then rehydrating meant that he has always been big for his division, which has been a factor in his success.
In the build up to the fight, Brook has actually weighed heavier than Golovkin, who is a natural middleweight and does not gain much weight between bouts. Brook has employed scientists and nutritionists from his local Sheffield University to maximise his increased muscle mass while retaining as much of his speed as possible. Whether this will have a bearing on the fight we will find out, however, Golovkin has looked tired and jetlagged, maybe even sick. These fears have been allayed by his trainer Abel Sanchez as just temporary tiredness that will not affect the fight. Indeed, Golovkin has fought while suffering from flu and knocking out his opponent.
Brook is definitely a step up in quality in terms of boxing and technique. He has displayed good ring generalship at times and should be a good challenge to Golovkin. Triple G is a master of erratic timing and varying his punches and angles, as well as cutting off the ring effectively. He likes to trade blows knowing that his power is much greater than his opponents, and has the asset of a granite chin. Many previous opponents comment on his power which is a result of great technique. Nobody except Brook and his team expect his power to trouble Golovkin, and it is unlikely that the extra muscle will make a difference in the only way that can worry Golovkin, which is to be able to hit harder and more accurately than him.
An aside, the WBA has not sanctioned this fight so their belt is not up for grabs. Their reasons being that Kell Brook has not fought at Middleweight before. Boxing politics being what it is, they are probably just protecting themselves.
Prediction: If this was a Rocky movie? Pain.
Golovkin to win by knockout.
