A Boxing Memory: Gennady Golovkin vs. Kell Brook

A Boxing Memory: Gennady Golovkin vs. Kell Brook

It always looked like a bridge too far for Kell Brook in 2016. It was a gamble in many ways for the reigning IBF welterweight champion of the world. Brook and the 19,000 inside the O2 Arena in London came with hope if no real expectation. But Brook, gave everything and a little bit more to expose the first chinks in the armour of the quite brilliant Gennady Golovkin.

When the proposed fight with Chris Eubank Jnr failed to materialise for Golovkin, Brook took the call and decided to roll the dice and finally get himself in a big fight that had been denied him at his natural weight. Golovkin was unbeaten in thirty-five fights, riding a stoppage streak of twenty-two, and the Sheffield fighter was the seventeenth defence of his various world middleweight titles. Every previous challenger had been stopped by the fearsome Golovkin, Brook wasn’t expected to stop that trend.

Brook hadn’t lost in thirty-six fights, but since his title-winning fight against Shawn Porter in 2014, a series of low-key defences hardly satisfied his thirst for something more. Golovkin was an almighty risk, but one Brook felt was worth taking. He bulked up so he could at least look like a middleweight. But weight divisions are there for a reason, was the heavy pre-fight narrative. The IBF welterweight champion would soon learn this, but if he was found wanting for weight, he wasn’t found wanting for heart or ability.

There were ominous warning signs for Brook in the opening ninety seconds when a left hook badly wobbled the challenger, but the British fighter soon came firing back, denying Golovkin any opportunity to build on his early success. Brook even found success of his own towards the end of the round that had Golovkin momentarily backing up.

It got even better for Brook in the 2nd round. A big booming uppercut in the final minute found its mark, and his greater hand speed and variety won him the round against the ever-advancing champion. But in the 3rd, Brook was showing the first real signs of distress, and the damage around his right eye was becoming more apparent. Brook bravely rallied when he could, but Golovkin had finally started to show the difference between a natural middleweight and a welterweight.

Brook landed more good shots in the 4th, but Golovkin kept coming, and the punches of his latest challenger were having little effect in slowing down the constant forward momentum of the champion. Brook was also starting to hold far more often. The challenger was still doing remarkably well, but the eye was becoming a real problem for him.

Golovkin had kept coming all night long, but in the 5th, probably sensing the fight was slowly leaving the body of Brook, he did so with a lot more purpose. Brook kept feeling his damaged eye and was starting to take punches without reply. Dominic Ingle had seen enough, even if others hadn’t. With the white towel in his hand, Ingle waved it constantly before eventually throwing it into the ring to get the referee’s attention. The boos came as the fight was waved off by the Canadian referee Marlon Wright. It was an act of mercy. And no little common sense. Brook had fought his fight. He had nothing more to give. Ingle saved the career of Brook that night. Golovkin, one of the biggest punchers ever at his weight, couldn’t put Brook down. He finished on his feet, and that was the least he deserved after his spirited showing.

Brook left the ring with a broken eye socket, but despite losing his unbeaten record, he defied a lot of experts with his better-than-expected showing. But what damage did the fight do for the rest of his career?