By Scott Gilfoid: Earlier Wednesday, Kell Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) weighed in at a very puffy looking 176lbs for his 30-day weigh-in for his bout against “Triple G” Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) next month. Brook looked bloated at the weigh-in, and he bragged afterwards that he’s eating nonstop and that he feels that he’s going to be stronger. He doesn’t look stronger unfortunately.
Golovkin is going about his training camp like a true professional. He weighed in at 165lbs today, and he’s only five pounds from his target weight of 160lbs for the fight. You’re not seeing Golovkin ballooning up in weight, because he’s treating the fight just like it’s any other fight.
Brook should be doing the same thing. It’s never a good idea to deviate from your normal training plan when you go into a training camp. If you normally weigh a certain amount, then it’s smart to stay at the same weight rather than packing on 20 pounds and then having problems moving around the ring.
As far as I can tell, Brook looks bloated with food and water and he looks soft. His promoter Eddie Hearn needs to think about pulling Brook aside and tell him it’s okay if he misses some meals because he’s overdoing it. Brook reminds me how Buster Douglas came into his title defense against Evander Holyfield looking well fed and ended up getting blasted out in a real hurry.
“I’m feeling fantastic and I am this weight because I want to be this weight. I am eating non-stop and I am able to push myself very hard in the gym,” Brook said to skysports.com.
This is what I was afraid of. Yep, I knew this was going to happen as soon as Brook signed for the fight with Golovkin. Instead of controlling his weight by eating moderately, Brook is going whole hog in eating food like it’s going out of style and he’s blown up to the 170s.
Brook was weighing in the 180s recently, and sporting a double chin, so he at least burned off some blubber. But for Brook to be bragging now about how he’s eating everything within sight, it’s just not good. I think Hearn needs to come to Brook’s training facility and to house and put a nice lock on his refrigerator and then toss the key. Hearn should put Brook on a diet of fish, rice and bread to burn that weight off of him proper.
“I am these extra few pounds because I want to be these extra few pounds and I want to be this heavy. I will be bringing the speed as well as the power into this fight,” said Brook.
Who is Brook talking about? He’s not fast and he never has been fast. His hand speed is moderately fast for the 147lb division, and I don’t expect him to be any faster now that he’s started to pack on the pounds with his eating like mad. Brook needs to realize that he’s probably going to be slower than Golovkin on September 10, and that he’s not going to be able to get away from him no matter how hard he tries to run from him around the ring.
Running, holding and throwing fast shots are not going to work for Brook. His best and only chance of winning is if he stands in the center of the ring and tees off with his best power shots in his arsenal.
Brook needs to plant his feet firmly and not move an inch from that spot, because if he uses a lot of movement, it’s only going to tire him out quicker and he’s going to get caught anyway. Brook will not be able to get away from a fighter like Golovkin given the fact that the talented Kazakhstan fighter is so incredibly good at cutting off the ring against his running opponents.
“That speed is there and we are adding extra power to it. I am more durable because I am at a natural weight, so I’ll be using my feet as well as my speed and power in this fight. I am going to shock the world baby,” said Brook.
I hate to drizzle on Brook’s parade, but he’s not going to be more durable because he’s been pigging out and putting on weight. He’s going to be getting tired faster if he’s able to make it past the third round, and I don’t think he will. All that useless weight that Brook is putting on lately is going to be like a giant anchor that is going to drag him down when he gets inside the ring with Gennady.
Brook is typical of fighters with the way he’s bragging about having gained power now that he’s put on weight. When you see fighters that have put on weight, it’s rare for them to be any more powerful than they were before they put on weight. They’re usually slower, easier to hit with the same punching power they had before. With their slower hands, it makes it easier for their opponents to see their shots and brace for them or block them.