Middleweight king Gennady Golovkin will be in London today to attend a press conference to further promote his September fight with Kell Brook and, as the hype grows over the fight that has seemingly polarized fight fans, everyone has their opinion on what will happen inside a packed O2 Arena on September 10. One man who is giving Brook – the reigning IBF welterweight champ who is currently adding muscle to his impressive frame so as to be able to go to war at 160-pounds – a good chance is British middleweight contender Adam Etches.
Etches, from Sheffield like Brook, told The Star how he feels there are only two fighters in the sport today who are capable of matching the feared Triple-G: Brook and pound-for-pound star Andre Ward. Etches feels Brook will need to fight GGG using similar tactics to those he adopted when he won the IBF 147-pound belt by closely out-pointing Shaw Porter two years ago.
“I think GGG is the best boxer around but if anybody can match him it would be Kell and maybe Ward,” the once-beaten Etches said. “GGG would have made a mess of Chris Eubank Junior but Kell’s style will make it a great match. There’s no point going in there just for a fight, you have to mess him around and grab him if necessary, like Kell did against Shawn Porter. Kell might not punch as hard but he has got more than enough power to get GGG’s respect. Kell is often around that weight[160] anyway, it’s natural to him and he’s more than comfortable with it.”
It might be interesting to see what Golovkin does if Brook does come out and tries to “mess him around and grab him.” How will GGG react if he finds himself getting clinched and held frequently, will he get frustrated? Has Brook got the physical strength to be able to put such tactics into play? Most people it seems are expecting Brook to get overpowered and eventually taken out, but maybe the challenger will try and make it a physical fight and extend Golovkin. Brook is massive for a welterweight and he might come in at around the same poundage as GGG on the night of the fight, maybe even a touch heavier.
In the past we’ve seen fighters who were expected to get blasted out stick around due to fighting a messy, negative but at the same time reasonably effective fight. No-one wants to see a dull encounter in September, but it could prove interesting to see how Golovkin copes if he has a guy in front of him who is trying to survive. Remember, even the great Mike Tyson – a fighter who, like GGG today, mentally intimidated fighters before they got in the ring with him – was largely unable to do anything about it when Bonecrusher Smith messed him around and wrestled and held his way to the final bell all those years ago.
Would Brook come away with a moral victory if he were to become the first man to extend GGG to the 12th-round?