By Leigh K. Seto Whether the public knows it or not Kell Brook is a throwback fighter from years gone by. It wasn’t long ago that fighters made fights not promoters. I remember Roy Jones Jr said one day I will win the heavy weight title, pundits laughed, but he did it. Roy believed in himself when no one else did.
A 5’10” fighter named Mike Tyson was beloved because he was a fearless little heavyweight that never fought anyone smaller than himself but took the heavyweight division by storm. Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Archie Moore, to name just a few successfully made the climbed through the upper divisions.
Recently with the newer generations, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez invented the catch weight divisions. It’s a means to take an advantage over your opponent, not the true nature of competition which is fairness.
Kell Brook is taking a challenge that so many have passed up and he should be embraced and commended. I know Amir Khan recently did the same thing, but unlike Amir, Kell doesn’t look like a guy just getting a big pay check he is committed to his goal. Now he is getting flack in the media for his weight gain. I’m an optimist by trait and I look at his weight gain differently. First, as a guy moving up in divisions does not want to give away too many advantages to his challenger.
Brook and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin are almost the same height so we can chalk that up as nearly even and then there is weight. By matching Golovkin’s weight Kell can help alleviate the possibility of being physically pushed around by his larger opponent and also the extra weight will help absorb some of the body work that Golovkin is known for. Those two factors seem small but are enormous when you think of ring generalship and being able to stand your ground.
Now we have seen in the past where weight gain hasn’t looked so good. I remember Oscar De la Hoya vs. Bernard Hopkins and Bobby Czyz vs. Evander Holyfield. Oscar and Bobby both looked bloated, tired and sweaty. With obvious spare tires they were dragging around. Kell, however, looks fit. I think of guys that were able to move up in weight while carrying muscle not fat. Guys like Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr, Sugar Shane Mosley all these fighters made successful climbs up divisions. Their quickness is what separated them. That is another advantage naysayers aren’t mentioning. Kell Brook has far faster hands than Golovkin. Also, Kell Brook is a power puncher. Weight or not you cannot deny Knock out ratio. Those aren’t mythical numbers those are facts.
We can only hope Brook is successful against the mighty Golovkin because with a win we will see a lot more fighters daring to dream too. Challenging one’s self whether viewed idiotic or insane is courageous. It’s going against the current, going against the pundits. It’s believing in yourself when no one else does. I promise you Brook is entering the ring vs. Golovkin to win. He is unbeaten during his decade run as a Welterweight, he’s a champion, he’s prideful and he’s a throwback fighter willing to take on the best. I tip my hat to that, we all should.