By Allan Fox: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) says he was shocked at how big welterweight Kell Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) was when the two of them stood next to each other on the stage at their New York press conference this week. Golovkin perhaps was expecting to be standing next to a normal welterweight that was smaller than him.
Instead, Brook was the same size if not bigger than Golovkin. Brook is a little overweight and not the in shape fighter he is when he’s fighting. His promoter Eddie Hearn expects him to be at 167 when he faces Golovkin on September 10 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
When asked if he’s going to KO Brook on September 10, Golovkin said, “Maybe, maybe. I know my job; I know my style, drama show. Kell, he’s a big guy. He’s a strong guy, a big surprise for me. This is boxing. This is biggest test for me because he’s undefeated. I go into London. It’s not easy. [It’s a]Big bonus for him. His house,” said Golovkin.
Brook’s size might not help him against Golovkin. He’s been beating guys his own size and better for years. It might not make any difference for Brook if he’s close to the same size as GGG. It would be nice to see how Brook would do against some of the guys that Golovkin has beaten like Willie Monroe Jr., David Lemieux, Martin Murray and Curtis Stevens.
“Anyone that knows boxing knows that size is a small disadvantage in this fight,” said Hearn about Brook. “Gennady is the bigger man, but Kell is probably five of six pounds heavier than Gennady at the moment. That doesn’t mean a great deal, but on the night, he’ll probably be five pounds lighter when they get in the ring. 154lbs is the absolute perfect weight for Kell Brook. I feel this is a light middleweight moving to middleweight. Unfortunately for him, he’s fighting the most dangerous middleweight in the world,” said Hearn.
At this point, Hearn was asked if he had tried to get Golovkin’s promoter to agree to a catch-weight for the fight. Hearn said, “There was from my side. I tried. We could have stayed at 147 pounds. We have a world title, but Kell wants this one. It’s out of the ordinary. It’s the chance to be great. Amir Khan does not have a chin. Kell Brook has a great chin, but he’s fighting a much bigger puncher than Canelo. When Shawn Porter boxed Kell, Paulie [Malignaggi] was saying to me that this guy is an animal. I’m telling you. I said, ‘watch how Kell Brook handles Shawn Porter,’ and he handled him with ease. Watching the fight back, every time he came forward, he [Brook] tied him up. He may come out on September 10, and he may come out at 158, 159, and be a beast, and say, ‘Wow, this is the one for me or he may come in and say 154 is for me. Or he may say, ‘I’m going back to 147 and fight Amir Khan.’ That’s another guy, Amir Khan. He’d make $10 million fighting Kell Brook, but he won’t do it because he’d get beaten by a knockout by Kell Brook. This for Kell Brook is the ultimate challenge, the ultimate opportunity. You’re going to see the best Kell Brook. He’s going to have energy in this fight because he’s not going to have battle to make weight. This is about trying to be great. I think Kell has an excellent jab. I think he punches very hard. If you speak to the middleweights he’s sparring against, he’s hitting hard. Those middleweights say he’s hitting harder than any middleweights they’ve fought. Gennady Golovkin’s feet are fantastic and underrated. People talk about his punching power. He cuts off the ring so well. Kell can’t afford to be passive in the ring. Therefore, he has to be the aggressor of some kind, but not reckless, but that bring its own danger as well. How do you beat Golovkin? You test his chin. You got to try and take him into the deep waters. When he boxed Martin Murray and went 11 rounds, he unraveled a little bit. There wasn’t enough back from Martin Murray, but he looked tired. It looked a little bit reckless. Kell Brook has a great chin, but he showed a great chin at 147 pounds boiled down. Kell Brook makes 154 pounds perfectly. Down to 147 is tremendous. He’ll go into the ring between 167 to 167. Golovkin will be 170 to 172. I’d say he’ll be six or seven pounds lighter than Golovkin,” said Hearn.
In speaking about Khan in his fight against Canelo, Hearn said, “What you saw there was a skinny guy trying to eat his way into the weight. Here you’re going to see a huge man. When you see Kell Brook’s legs, they’re like tree trunks. So he has to make 160,” said Hearn.