Khan approves of Brook facing Golovkin

By Boxing News - 07/08/2016 - Comments

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By Patrick McHugh: Amir Khan likes the idea that IBF welterweight champion Kell “Special K” Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) is moving up in weight two divisions to take on unbeaten IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) in two months from now on September 10 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Khan said on his social media site on Friday that he sees Brook’s move as a similar one that he made recently when he too moved up in weight to face a middleweight in former WBC champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on May 7 this year.

Khan fought well for five rounds, but was knocked unconscious in the 6th. However, Khan gained a great deal of respect in the boxing world for taking on such a dangerous opponent. What made it more impressive for Khan to take the challenge was his lighter weight. He’s a fighter that started his career out as a lightweight, and hasn’t been fighting at welterweight for very long.

Brook is more of a junior middleweight than a welterweight. He’s just able to cut weight to get to fight at 147 to gain a weight edge against true welterweights.

“Behind you 100% @SpecialKBrook glad you took a leaf out of my book, tough ask but anything can happen, just don’t pull out,” said Khan on his social media site. “British fighters running the sport of boxing right now, so many fighters willing to fight the best and taking chances. He tweeted: “Great work Eddie [Hearn], preferred to have seen Chris Eubank Jr fight GGG Boxing with his style but fair play,” said Khan.

Hearn wanted to match Eubank Jr. against Golovkin, but he didn’t readily agree to the contract offer that he made. Hearn couldn’t afford to wait for Eubank Jr. and his father Chris Eubank Sr. to eventually agree to the fight because Golovkin and his promoter Tom Loeffler weren’t going to spend a lot of time waiting around because they wanted to fight in September.

After Khan signed for a fight against Canelo earlier this year, Brook said this to IFL TV: “Get me Golovkin at 155 pounds.

Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn said that Brook spoke to him at that time and told him that he wanted GGG. “I started laughing,” Hearn said to IFL TV after Brook told him to make the Golovkin fight. “And he said, ‘I’m serious.’ I actually spoke to [Golovkin’s promoter] Tom Loeffler.”

It was nice to see Khan let go of the issues he has with Brook to give him some encouragement. It’s going to be a tough fight for Brook, because he’s probably even more over-matched against Golovkin than Khan was against Canelo. At least with Khan, had a guy with slow feet, poor stamina, and history of being out-boxed by clever fighters in Canelo. Brook is facing an almost perfect fighter with no real flaws to speak of other than not having blazing hand speed.

Golovkin is bigger than Brook, stronger than him, and a better boxer. There aren’t any noticeable flaws in Golovkin’s game that Brook can capitalize on in this fight like there were for Khan in his bout against Canelo. The one thing that Brook has going for him against Golovkin is the fact that the two of them are close to the same weight.

With Brook really being a junior middleweight rather than a welterweight, he’s going to be at around the same weight as Golovkin. The reason for that is because Golovkin is a small middleweight who could easily fight at junior middleweight if he wanted to. Golovkin chooses to fight at middleweight because he doesn’t believe in cutting a lot of weight to fight in weight classes below him.

If Brook can upset Golovkin, it would put him in position for fights against Canelo Alvarez, Khan and perhaps a rematch against Golovkin. The sky would be the limit for Brook if he can unseat Golovkin and take his IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight titles from him. Brook wouldn’t need to move back down to welterweight because he will have proven himself that he belongs at middleweight.

There is a real danger for Brook in a fight against Golovkin. The Kazahstan fighter isn;t avoided by the top middleweights for nothing. He knocks out everybody he faces, and it doesn’t matter if they weigh the same or more than him. Eddie Hearn thinks it’ll help Brook that he’ll be close to the same weight as Golovkin, but it probably won’t. It doesn’t help the middleweights that they weigh the same if not more than Golokin. He still knocks them out. Brook could get hurt, badly hurt by Golovkin. As Paulie Malignaggi said recently, “That’s why they have weight classes.”