Photo courtesy of Matchroom Boxing.
Too big, too strong, too good.
On September 10, 2016, Gennadiy Golovkin scored a hard-hitting fifth-round knockout of Kell Brook to retain his IBF and WBC middleweight titles at London’s O2 Arena. The official time was 1:57.
Golovkin was undefeated in 35 fights with 32 knockouts. Rightfully feared by some of the best middleweights in the world, the Kazakh-born destroyer was literally struggling to secure a 160-pound opponent.
Step up to undefeated IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook.
Many felt the Sheffield star had a death wish. While Brook was bursting at the seams to make 147 pounds, he was a middle-sized junior middleweight at best. Giving size to a fighter as formidable and skilled as Golovkin was a disaster waiting to happen.
In the end, it could have been worse.
Brook tested his heart and scored with some fantastic combination work. Nothing happened. Golovkin, accustomed to taking blows from middleweights, soaked up the best his smallest challenger had to offer and waited to hit her back. When he landed, the damage was catastrophic.
By the fifth, Brook had suffered a broken eye socket and was struggling terribly to hold off Golovkin. Trainer Dominic Ingle had seen enough and walked up the steps of the ring as he waved the white towel frantically.
