Consensus #1 Pound-For-Pound Fighters in the World, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, (45-0, 38 KO’S) and WBC Super Flyweight World Champion Carlos “El Principe” Cuadras, (35-0-1, 27 KO’s) continued their busy media schedule on Monday just five days prior to their highly anticipated battle on Saturday, September 10 at The Fabulous Forum and telecast live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Gennady Golovkin vs. Kell Brook: Optical Illusion
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.
Manny Pacquiao says he’ll be watching Golovkin-Brook; picks GGG to win
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.
Abel Sanchez: Absolutely no truth to GGG illness rumours; he’s in fight mode!
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.
Face-to-Face at the weigh-in: Brook says he could “see fear” in Golovkin’s eyes
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.
Gennady Golovkin vs Kell Brook: Are you not excited yet?
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.
Golovkin-Brook Weigh-In Video
Weigh-In Results:
Gennady Golovkin 158.8 vs. Kell Brook 159.4
Lee Haskins 117 vs. Stuart Hall 116.5
John Riel Casimero 111 vs. Charlie Edwards 111
Saturday’s Special Edition of World Championship Boxing begins at 5:30 p.m. ET/PT from London.
Video: Daniel Jacobs vs. Sergio Mora Weigh-In
Daniel Jacobs 159.6 vs. Sergio Mora 159.3
Robert Easter Jr 134.5 vs. Richard Commey 135
Travis Kauffman 239 vs. Josh Gormley 240
Jorge Sebastian Heiland 161.3 vs. Angel Hernandez 165
Kermit Cintron 146.6 vs. Manny Woods 150.6
Frank De Alba 128.5 vs. Kiun Evans 125.9
De La Hoya outlines plans for Canelo: one more fight this year, one on Cinco de Mayo 2017, then GGG
Oscar De La Hoya is of course confident his fighter, Mexican superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez will emerge victorious in his upcoming 154-pound WBO title challenge of a very live underdog indeed in Liam Smith, and Oscar has laid out his plans for Canelo for after the September 17 figh. Speaking with HBO in a piece to promote the Smith fight in Texas, De La Hoya said Alvarez will continue his ascension to the middleweight division he says he will move up to on a full time basis only when his body is ready.
“We envision Canelo doing a third fight in 2016 either at or close to the middleweight limit and then a fight on Cinco de Mayo at 160 before facing Golovkin in the fall. I know Canelo-Golovkin is the biggest fight to make; the fighters know it’s the biggest fight to make and the fans know it’s the biggest fight to make. I have been clear that Canelo will fight Golovkin at 160-pounds and we have a verbal agreement to do it in the fall of 2017. But in the meantime, Canelo is going to build up to being a true middleweight.”
Golovkin vs. Brook final press conference quotes – Watch video
London, England (September 8, 2016) In front of a massive display of international media, Boxing Superstar and Unified Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, (35-0, 32 KO’s) and Undefeated British Boxing Star and Welterweight World Champion “The Special One” Kell Brook, (36-0, 25KO’s) held their Final Press Conference today leading up to their highly anticipated international showdown at The O2 on Saturday, September 10 in London, England.