By Allan Fox: Sky pundit Paulie Malignaggi sees Kell Brook’s athleticism and speed to be the key for him tonight if he’s got beat middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin at the O2 Arena in London, England. Brook thinks that Brook is going to need to use his boxing skills and sharp punches for him to get the better of the harder punching Golovkin.
Still, Malignaggi isn’t sure whether Kell will be able to do that with the pressure that he’s going to be under from Golovkin from the earliest moments of the fight. Malignaggi notes that Kell could lose his head once he starts getting hit hard by Golovkin for the first time.
Kell might panic and start running around the ring without thinking clearly. Golovkin will surely be following Book’s every step and not letting him rest mentally or physically from the pressure and the pain that he’s going to be inflicting.
“I thought it was crazy. This is the hardest puncher and he’s going up two divisions to fight the hardest puncher in the world,” said Malignaggi. “I think the key in the fight is Kell’s athleticism. They’re both very good fighters. Golovkin is very disciplined, stoic type of fighter. Kell has a big of athleticism that brings a bit of a wildcard to the table. I think all the tricks in the bag with Kell we’ve never seen, he may bring them out. If there’s a time to bring out all the tricks in the bag and put them on the table, it’s Saturday night for Kell Brook. I still believe you’ve got to favor Golovkin. Kell is going to be hit harder than he’s ever been hit before. Kell has the ability to win the fight. I don’t know if he has the size to win the fight. He’s still been fighting guys that were welterweights. Golovkin has still been fighting guys that were middleweights. Will Golovkin be able to deal with Kell’s athleticism and angles? There’s one small flaw with Golovkin. He has no head movement, and a sharp shooter like Kell can take advantage of that.”
Malignaggi wonders if Brook is going to be able to take Golovkin’s hard shots. Despite Brook having worked with various junior middleweight sparring partners like Liam Williams and Liam Smith to get him ready for Golovkin, he’s still going to be getting hit a lot harder tonight than he did against those guys. Golovkin is a middleweight, and he won’t be wearing the huge 16oz gloves that Brook’s sparring partners were wearing.
“Once he feels that thunder, is he going to be able to remain calm under fire,” said Malignaggi about Brook. “You start to panic. Panic creates errors, mistakes. Can Kell remain calm under that duress and continue to execute his own game plan while trying to unlock Golovkin’s game plan?”
Brook will need to use every trick in the book for him to survive the full 12 rounds in this fight, and even then, there’s no guarantees that he’s going to be given the decision by the three judges for him merely surviving.