One of the things that motivates Kell Brook ahead of his big, some say impossible, challenge of middleweight king Gennady Golovkin, is the knowledge of the plaudits that will be hurled at him should he pull it off on September 10. Brook, already a world champion (the IBF welterweight ruler of course) told BBC Sport how, in today’s sport of boxing, it doesn’t mean anything like as much as it used to when a fighter becomes a world champion.
Brook, like the rest of us, doesn’t like the ever-growing number of world champions and world titles available. So, to become a special, or a stand out fighter, Brook says he knew he had to do “something outrageous.” Now he is on the verge of becoming a true boxing superstar. Back in the 1950s, when Randolph Turpin stunned the immortal Sugar Ray Robinson to win the world middleweight title (this monumental upset remaining the benchmark for all British fighters to aspire to) it really did mean something. When British welterweight John H. Stracey upset the great Jose Napoles to win the world title in the 1970s, it meant something.
Today, as great an achievement as it was for Brook to have beaten Shawn Porter in America to take the portion of the welterweight title he now holds, it didn’t mean anywhere near as much, nor did it uplift or energise the British public. A win over GGG WILL do this and Brook knows it.
“When we only had one or two world champions, the reaction when you won a word title was: ‘Yes! Unbelievable for Britain.’ But now it’s more a case of, ‘Oh, someone else has won a world title,’ No-one is shocked any more,” Brook told Ben Dirs. “So now you have to do something outrageous to stand out. There is a buzz in the air for this fight – it’s a mega-fight. It’s ludicrous a guy is jumping up two divisions to face somebody no-one will fight. It’s got everything and that’s why everyone needs to tune in.”
Brook need not worry about people tuning in, this fight will break records in the UK (in fact, with it selling out The O2 in 11 minutes, GGG Vs. Brook has done so already) – but can the underdog who, by his own admission, is doing something “ludicrous” possibly win? Would a Brook victory even equal Turpin’s shock of the decade of a win over ultimate pound-for-pound king Robinson?
Brook should be applauded for at least trying to achieve true greatness and become a stand out champion in an age where it is so much easier to play it safe and take zero risk. The risk here is worth it, though. Imagine the party/homecoming Brook will get if he can topple Triple-G. The UK government should call Monday September 12th a national holiday!