Kell Brook gave it a damn fine shot last night, as he challenged the fierce, relentless punching machine that is the unbeaten (unbeatable?) middleweight king Gennady Golovkin. Showing the kind of admirable grit that makes fight fans so passionate about the sport of boxing, the outgunned challenger met fire with fire.
Brook really had no choice but to fight back as best he could, as GGG was soon showing off his superb ability at cutting off the ring, giving the faster Brook no room to work.
Fighting in front of a sold-out crowd of over 19,000 at The O2 in London, England, Boxing Superstar and Unified Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, (36-0, 33 KO’s) stopped Undefeated British Boxing Star and Welterweight World Champion “The Special One” Kell Brook, (36-1, 25KO’s) in the fifth round of an action packed clash from the opening bell.
In a great action fight, middleweight king Gennady Golovkin stopped an incredibly brave Kell Brook in the 5 th round when the challenger’s trainer Dominic Ingle threw in the towel with Brook, busted up, taking a sustained beating. Full report to follow
Lee Haskins retains IBF bantamweight belt with controversial decision over Stuey Hall
Tonight on the big Golovkin-Brook card in London, IBF bantamweight champion Lee Haskins won a 12 round decision over old foe Stuart Hall. After an engrossing and entertaining battle, Haskins retained his belt by scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112.
In just a few hours, questions raised will be questions answered as undefeated Middleweight king, Gennady G. Golovkin (35-0, 32KO’s) squares off against undefeated Welterweight warrior, Kell Brook (36-0, 25KO’s) in London’s O2 Arena. In a sport known to measure heart and will, some feel the big difference tonight could come down to skill. Despite being the smallest man Golovkin has faced in his career, (on paper), the cerebral style of Brook, combined with relatively good power could serve as an ultimate spoiler when the final bell sounds. As we prepare for this showdown, we’ll take a quick glimpse at Keys to Victory, Four to Explore, and an Official Prediction.
Tonight in the 02 Arena, Kell Brook will enter the ring against Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan, attempting to replicate the feats of such boxing greats as Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard. The announcement of the fight was met with universal incredulity, and not without cause. Yet those pouring scorn on Brook’s vaulting ambition must acknowledge that such an exploit does not lack precedent. While it is tempting to consider this as symptomatic of an era where the best avoid one another, leaving the public to content themselves withmismatches masquerading as proper contests, we should bear in mind the past. Challenging Golovkin is supremely audacious, but not unique in boxing history. But is the challenger’s apparently thorough self belief well justified? Is this another Leonard v Hagler with the same outcome?
This Saturday night live from the O2 Arena in London, England, undefeated fighters Gennady Golovkin and Kell Brook meet in a pairing few expected. The matchup has been compared to Canelo versus Khan but judging by Kell Brook’s 30-day mandatory weigh-in, the issue of weight may not be the biggest problem for Brook. In fact, Kell’s ceiling at 147 is now tough to judge due to possible weight-drain and there’s a good chance we see a fresher, stronger, lighter on his feet Brook. Another point of emphasis is the amount of sparring & overall stamina he will retain being able to eat freely throughout the day. Amir Khan had never proven himself at the welterweight division, but that’s not to say Brook was accomplished at welterweight or in general. Let us not forget that Khan was stopped at 135 and in his last big fight against Danny Garcia, knocked out 140.
Like the rest of us, superstar Manny Pacquiao will be paying to see tomorrow night’s big Gennady Golovkin-Kell Brook middleweight clash (well, he’ll be watching it anyway). Currently preparing for his own fight – against WBO welterweight king Jessie Vargas, who was to have fought Brook in a unification clash before the match-up fell through – Pac-Man says he is excited by tomorrow’s fight at The O2, but that he sees a very tough task for Brook.
Pac-Man of course rose through the weight divisions with stunning efficiency, eventually capturing recognised world titles in a record eight weight classes, but even he feels welterweight Brook’s jump up two weights in one move is too great. Speaking with Omnisport, Pacquiao said he sees a “hard” fight for Brook.
Today, rumours circulated saying how Gennady Golovkin was feeling unwell, even perhaps battling an illness, ahead of tomorrow’s big fight with Kell Brook. In the opinion of some people, these rumours were given some credence by the fact that Golovkin headed straight for his room after the weigh-in and did not want to do any further media engagements.
Of course, rumours being circulated is nothing new in boxing, especially just days (or hours) before a big fight, but GGG’s trainer Abel Sanchez spoke with Sky Sports just after today’s weigh-in, and he stated that there is no truth whatsoever to these whispers.
What to make of today’s official weigh-in for tomorrow’s hugely fascinating and potentially thrilling Gennady Golovkin-Kell Brook middleweight battle? The weights were pretty much as expected, although it was perhaps a little surprising seeing welterweight Brook tip-in heavier than the world middleweight ruler; even if it was by less than a pound. Brook, though, looks absolutely magnificently conditioned, muscular, ripped and ready.
Brook has that glow about him that only a peaking, fully fit pro athlete can have. Golovkin pretty much looked his usual self, despite promoter Eddie Hearn’s belief that GGG “looked a little drawn” yesterday. Both men looked in fantastic, ready to go shape as they stood on the scales. Brook, however, said he could see fear in the eyes of the feared KO artist who will be having his first pro fight in England tomorrow night.
Anticipation before any fight is in many ways the most vital component of boxing as without it, the boxing fans simply can’t buy into it. A simple fact of boxing is that without hype, boxing isn’t the prize fighting, Vegas headlining super sport that we know and love. Boxing needs excitement!
One thing we have seen is that over in Britain, boxing has got exciting again. Maybe not Rumble-in-the-Jungle exciting, but exciting in captivating a new younger audience, exciting in seeing week-in week-out big fights, exciting in seeing a depth of quality in undercards and exciting in that fighters are being marketed better than ever before.