IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin says he’s ready for a “street fight” against Kell Brook this Saturday night in their fight on HBO and Sky Box Office pay-per-view. Golovkin says he wants the fight to be a “crazy” street fight, because he wants to go toe-to-toe with the 30-year-old Brook.
Somehow I can’t picture Brook agreeing to fight Golovkin in a street fight. I don’t know why, but I keep seeing an image in my mind of Brook grabbing Golovkin in clinch after clinch and needing to be pulled off of him by the referee for 12 rounds. Brook isn’t the street type of person unfortunately. He’s more of a clinger when fighting good opposition. The guys that Brook has street fought in the past are fighters like Jo Jo Dan, Matthew Hatton and Kevin Bizier.
The thing is, if Brook agrees with Golovkin to fight him in a street fight, he’ll last all of one round at best. Brook is not made for a street fight with a puncher like Golovkin. Heck, Brook isn’t even made for a street fight against Shawn Porter. We saw how Brook developed eight arms in that fight with him holding Porter anytime he got close to him.
“I’m ready for 12 rounds and I’m ready for a street fight,” said Golovkin to IFL TV. “I like crazy fight. I like street fight.”
The moment that Brook agrees to fight Golovkin in a street fight is the moment he gets knocked out. Brook has been saying that he’ll use a lot of movement to fight in a slick manner to keep Golovkin from hitting him. I don’t see how Brook can avoid getting hit by Golovkin in this fight.
When Brook is showing the interviewer how he plans on avoiding Golovkin’s punches, the only thing that’s moving is his head. His midsection is still right there and an inviting target. That’s the whole problem that Brook has. Golovkin isn’t just a head hunter. He throws to the body even better than he does to the head, and Brook has never faced a body puncher before. In looking at the sparring that Brook did with WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith, Brook looked bothered by the body shots he was taking. Smith doesn’t have Golovkin’s power. If he was able to give Brook problems, then what will Golovkin do to him?
If Brook is able to land his power shots, we could have an interesting fight on Saturday. But for Brook to do that, he’s going to need to be ready to get hit in return, because Golovkin will be looking to counter him each time. Brook can’t count on running away without getting nicked up, and he’s not going to be able to dive in to grab Golovkin in a clinch all night like he did against Shawn Porter. That won’t work. Golovkin is too smart to be held for 12 continuous rounds the way Porter was by Brook.
Brook was grabbing all night long. Porter was left to stare at the referee in disbelief that he wasn’t stepping in to address Brook’s excessive holding tactics. I think Brook has the chin or the power to stand up to Golovkin or even against the big punching welterweights. Brook doesn’t have that kind of punching power and definitely not the chin for that kind of fighting.
“It’s not news [Brook weighing so heavy]. The last couple of times, everybody was bigger than me, heavier than me,” said Golovkin. “It’s no problem. On Friday, he stays at 160, and I stay at 160. It doesn’t matter. He looks strong, he looks good. I believe he looks good in the ring too, because the ring, inside and outside, is a big difference. Kell is undefeated. I’m undefeated. Who is best? It’s very important for us,” said Golovkin.
Brook will probably come into the fight with Golovkin lighter than David Lemieux did last October. Lemieux looked absolutely huge after he rehydrated. It must have been really hard for Lemieux to make weight for the fight, because he looked like a short light heavyweight after he rehydrated.
When asked if Kell could beat everyone he’s ever fought before in his career, Golovkin said, “I think, no. He talks too much. It’s okay; it’s good for commercialism, for TV.”
Golovkin was then asked who specifically Brook couldn’t beat on his resume. Golovkin couldn’t come up with a name at that time. It looked like he was reluctant to name guys that he thinks would beat Brook due to the possibility of it leading to a back and forth exchange on the subject. Golovkin’s past opponents Curtis Stevens, David Lemieux, Martin Murray, Gabriel Rosado, Matthew Macklin, Marco Antonio Rubio, Daniel Geale and Willie Monroe Jr. would all be very tough fights for Brook.
I can’t see Brook beating everyone that Golovkin has faced. I mean, come on. If someone like Lemieux or Stevens landed one of their big shots to the chin of Brook, I couldn’t see him taking it. Brook doesn’t have the height, reach or the mobility to keep away from those types of fighters.
Yeah, Brook could do a lot of holding and such, but you’re not going to beat Lemieux and Stevens by trying to hold them all night long. They’re going to get you eventually. Lemieux is really good at throwing short left hooks from in close. If Brooked tried to hold Lemieux all night long, he’d be doing him a favor, because Lemieux is able to generate a ton of power from in close with his uppercuts and hooks.
There’s nothing to be ashamed of that Brook can’t beat everyone that Golovkin has faced before. Why should he? Brook is a welterweight, and Golovkin is a middleweight. We already saw Brook almost get knocked out by Carson Jones in 2012, and we saw him get staggered by Vyachelsav Senchenko. If those guys were able to hurt Brook, then what do you think Lemieux, Stevens, Macklin, Murray, Rubio, Geale and Monroe would do to him.