Kell Brook, A Man Among Boyz
By Ralph Rimpell
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 14 Jul 2016
On or about the first week of February 2016, British fighter and former world champion Amir Kahn announced he had signed to fight Canelo Alvarez on May 7, 2016. It definitely surprised the boxing world because Kahn fights in the welterweight (147lb) division and Canelo who at that time was the WBC (160lb) middle weight champion. It was no secret that Kahn had been openly campaigning for a mega fight with Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao for the past couple of years to no avail. So when the Canelo fight was offered to Kahn he accepted. Before the fight one could calculate that Kahn?s keys to victory would be to box, good movement, speed, and add as much muscle to his frame prior to the match. Much the same way Michael Spinks did when he moved from light heavyweight heavy weight to challenge Larry Holmes back in 1985, which Spinks won. Sad to say, Kahn lost by 6 round brutal KO to Canelo. Much like Kahn, IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook was also looking for a mega fight. There were no known offers to fight Mayweather or Pacquiao. Brook?s people reached to Kahn?s camp, but instead Kahn opted to fight Canelo for reportedly less money than fight Brook who like Kahn is also from the UK. Who is Kell Brook?
Kell Brook is the welterweight champion of the world (147lbs) for the IBF. His counterparts are WBC champion Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman is the WBA Champion, and Jessie Vargas represents the WBO. Brook came to prominence when he defeated former champion Shawn Porter back in 2014. Since then he has defended his crown 3 times while looking for that elusive super fight. Brook is currently undefeated and boasts a record of 36-0, 25KOs. Give credit to Brook, a man among boyz in the sport of boxing! He could have stayed across the pond in England and continued to defend his crown against ?no names? until one of his fellow welterweight champions chose to unify against him. Brook surprises everyone by taking this fight against Gennady ?Easy Work? * Golovkin, the feared middleweight champion of the world. Not since the days of Marvelous Marvin Hagler has any middleweight champion evoked as much fear as Golovkin has. Most fighters that are willing to fight Golovkin are ?no name? fighters trying to become champion/looking for a payday. As you begin to analyze this fight even deeper, thus far there is no mention of the always annoying ?catchweight? as a condition to this fight being made. Star fighters fight guys like Golovkin if they agree to come in at lower weight so they can gain any type of advantage. Brook merely cites that he is a ?big welterweight?, which is indicative that he is not concerned with Golovkin?s size. According to this writer?s sources over in the UK, Brook spars with supermiddleweights (168lbs) and light heavyweights (175lbs) and performs well against bigger men.
Gennady Golovkin (35-0, 32KOs) is the man to beat in the middleweight division. He holds 3 (WBC, WBA, IBF) of the 4 major titles in his weight class. He was supposed to fight Canelo Alvarez, but Canelo gave up his WBC belt rather than face Golovkin. While this is a mega fight for Golovkin, this is also a high risk fight. He must win this fight if he wants more mega fights. There is no puzzle as to how Golovkin fights. He comes straight forward and takes his opponent apart. For the first time in Golovkin?s career, this writer says he is vulnerable to receive his first loss. Why?
The O2 Arena in London is:
1. Brook?s backyard
2. Brook is not afraid of Golovkin (like other fighters are).
3. Brook describes himself as ?big welterweight?.
4) No matter how many Russian fighters come to the O2 Arena to support Golovkin, they will not outnumber the British fan supporting Brook.
These factors will be against Golovkin. Golovkin has to block these factors out of his mind and stay focused if he is to win this fight. Golovkin is a star in America. Brook is a star in the UK. This fight is for For all the marbles! Whoever comes out victorious will be a ?Superstar?. They will have greater recognition, bigger paydays, and consideration for moving up on the Pound for Pound list. Brook has ballz of steel! If he can defeat Golovkin he will also be bigger than any fighter that has come out of the UK and that includes Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis, and Naseem Hamed. If Golovkin wins, crtics will likely say he beat up on a little weltwerweight but his myth of invincibility will continue to grow. The loser will be labeled overrated and will have to go to the back of the proverbial line to rebuild his career. This is a high risk fight with a big reward for both fighters. This writer picks Kell Brook by split decision in the upset of year type fight.
Contact Writer: RLuvsboxing@aol.com
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.
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