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Gennady Golovkin vs. Kell Brook: Someone’s “0” Must Go

A loss to his undersized opponent this weekend could prove devastating to GGG’s chances of earning the biggest of all money fights pugilism has to presently offer—a bout with Canelo Alvarez.
Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

On Saturday night, London's O2 Arena will bear witness to Brit Kell "The Special One" Brook stepping up two weight classes to face the Kazakhstani boxing phenomenon that is Gennady "GGG" Golovkin to etch his name in history.

Brook, the IBF welterweight champion, is competing for Golovkin's IBF and WBC middleweight titles and could be the first reigning welterweight world champion to win a world title at middleweight for 50 years—with Virgin Islander Emile Griffith last achieving that feat in 1966 against the brilliantly-named Nigerian Dick Tiger.

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The Sheffield, England, native has some task ahead of him: Golovkin is one of the most feared in men in the entire sport of boxing. Hailing from Karagandy, Kazakhstan, GGG has a perfect 35-0 record with an astonishing 32 knockout wins to his credit. He was also an impressive amateur, winning silver medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Brook is an unbeaten world champion himself, with an unblemished 36-0 record with 25 knockout victories. However, the odds aren't stacked in Brook's favor with the weight discrepancy involved between the pair—so much so, the WBA have refused to sanction GGG's title defense as they were concerned for Brook, who has never fought as a middleweight before—let alone against one of the division's most devastating knockout artists.

Much of the concern for Brook in this fight stems from the effort put in by long-term rival Amir Khan against Golovkin's foe in Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Bolton, England's Khan jumped two weight classes to face Canelo for his WBC middleweight title and did himself justice against the much bigger man in the opening rounds. However, the Mexican's power soon caught up with the chinny Khan and the Englishman of Pakistan origin was starched by the stinging overhand right of Alvarez in the sixth round.

Khan has long been accused of avoiding local rival Brook even in the early days of their respective professional careers—well before they were ever in world championship contention. Likewise with Alvarez, the Mexican has been suspected to have deliberately priced himself out of a fight with Golovkin. The WBC title Canelo won against Khan was vacated shortly after the fight as the two parties between GGG and Alvarez couldn't come to terms within the 14-day deadline. It's almost poetic the two avoided boxers collide in a match-up no one could have thought feasible in the past.

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The similarities don't end there: both Brook and Golovkin enjoyed second-round knockout victories in their last outings against Kevin Bizier and Dominic Wade, respectively.

This fight may seem a little force-fed, considering how the boxing world had got its hopes up for a GGG vs. Canelo contest after the latter's aforementioned victory over Khan—it's undoubtedly the biggest fight boxing has to offer in this present era. But, heaps of respect must go to Brook who has been clamouring for a big-name fight for some time now, despite having a world championship around his waist.

Talking to the BBC, Brook says he has been using welterweight great "Sugar" Ray Leonard's story as motivation. In 1987, former welterweight world champion Leonard came out of a three-year hiatus to beat world middleweight champion Marvin Hagler. "I want to do what Leonard did with Hagler—use my speed, my footwork and box the perfect fight.

"I do fear him. Of course I do. I know he's a big puncher and that nobody wants to fight him for a reason. But, the fear is positive because it's going to make me super-sharp with cat-like reactions. You could see the fear in Leonard's eyes when he was in with Hagler—that's why he was so sharp and zoomed in."

Leonard is not the only welterweight great to have won a middleweight title—there's good company in Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns. But, none of those three men managed to win the world middleweight strap while simultaneously being crowned as the welterweight king. Brook has that opportunity, even if it is an unenviable one in facing against one of the most fearsome power punches in all of boxing today.

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It is that notion of seizing this huge, unexpected opportunity that has drawn Brook into fighting Golovkin. Brook has always been one to try and differentiate himself from the pack and with many other British world title holders in the mix these days, he is hoping victory on Saturday night will cement his place at a different level to that of his compatriots.

"This fight will separate me from the rest of Britain's world champions. Having beaten the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, that will make me the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. That excites me so much.

"I can't wait to prove the doubters wrong. This is going to be the best win that any British fighter has ever pulled off. I hope he comes in and tries to take my head off, because he thinks he's just fighting a welterweight. If he does that, he'll leave himself open and I'll take him out. I believe I've got the better boxing skills but I can also punch with bad intentions."

Brook's promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom believes Brook has what it takes to shock the world. "Kell's got no fear, unlike many who have fought Golovkin, who were beaten before they even climbed into the ring," Hearn told BBC Sport. "Whatever you do, do not rule him out. He's a British fighter willing to put it all on the line for himself and the fans. The British public should get behind him."

Though it's not exactly a hometown crowd with Brook's hometown of Sheffield a few hundred miles away from the capital city of London, Golovkin could perhaps be walking into unchartered territory on Saturday night. He has mostly fought in Los Angeles and New York over recent years—two markets which don't typically enjoy the partisan crowds seen in British boxing. Though, it will take a lot to rattle the calculated Kazakh.

Golovkin will be particularly intent on winning Saturday night with the Canelo carrot continually dangled in front of him—a loss to an undersized opponent could prove devastating to GGG's chances of earning the biggest of all money fights pugilism has to presently offer. But, should Brook upset the odds and emerge victorious, the Sheffield scrapper could see himself land two big money fights in a row. Opportunity knocks.