By Eric Baldwin: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) says he respects his next opponent welterweight Kell “Special K” Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) for their fight on September 10, and he sees him as not an easy fight for him. Golovkin says that the 30-year-old Brook is a big guy, and he sees him as bigger and stronger than Amir Khan, who recently was stopped in the 6th round by middleweight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Golovkin says he’s ready to fight Canelo at any time, but he doesn’t think he’s serious with his creation of a new weight category at 155lbs. Golovkin says that Canelo doesn’t respect boxing with the way he’s come up with a different weight class for his fights.
“I respect him. He’s a very good fighter,” said Golovkin bout Brook to ESPN. “He’s a champion. He has a good record. I know it’s not a very easy fight for us. He’s the biggest test for me. He’s going to 160. He’s a big guy. He’s a strong guy. I saw him. He’s much bigger, much stronger than Amir Khan. His style is much better. I know so many fighters that don’t want to fight with him. He’s a champion,” said Golovkin.
Golovkin will be defending his belts against Brook on 9/10 at the O2 Arena in London, England. Brook will have the hometown advantage, but Golovkin will be looking to negate that by knocking him out and not letting the fight go to the judges. The 5’10 ½” Golovkin will have a weight and height advantage over the 5’9” Brook, but it won’t be as much of an advantage as some people think.
Brook is big enough now to fight in the 154lb division. This fight is more like Golovkin challenging one of the top junior middleweights like the Charlo brothers, Demetrius Andrade or Erislandy Lara. Brook is a junior middleweight in body. He may fight at 147 to gain an edge against smaller guys, but he’s clearly a junior middleweight. Golovkin will need to take this fight very seriously if he wants to win, because Brook is going to be trying everything he can to try and get a victory.
When asked if he would like to still fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, Golovkin said, “Pacquiao and Mayweather are too small. In the last couple of times, Floyd, he fights at junior middleweight at 154. I want to fight with him, but right now, it’s impossible.”
Both Mayweather and Pacquiao will very likely be returning to the ring in 2016 or 2017, but neither of them is going to even consider a fight against Golovkin. He’s in a different weight category. Mayweather and Pacquiao will be looking to fight welterweights or light welterweights when they come back. The only exception to them fighting guys from those divisions is if someone like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is free.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZl0R-q1XU4
Mayweather might consider a fight against Canelo if the money is there. Mayweather wants a nine-figure payday in his next fight, and Canelo would give him his best chance to get that kind of money.
Golovkin was then asked if he would like to fight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in 2016. Golovkin said, “Absolutely! I told you every time, I’m ready to fight with him. I want to fight with anybody. I don’t know why he takes both. It’s his problem. It’s his promoter’s problem. He is strong at 160. He is WBC champion at 160 middleweight division. I stay at 160. He said, ‘I won’t go over 155.’ He is not serious. It’s not a new weight category. He is not serious. It is not respect for boxing. It doesn’t matter for me. Next year or later, I’m ready.”
Canelo is fighting at 154 against WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith on September 17. After that fight, Canelo is expected to move up to middleweight and challenge WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders at the full eight for the division at 160.
If Canelo is successful in that match-up and looks good, then he might be ready to fight Golovkin at the full weight for the middleweight division without a catch-weight in the fall of 2017. Canelo will fight someone like Miguel Cotto in May of 2017, and then go after Golovkin in September. It would be a great fight.