Gennady Golovkin defended his collection of middleweight titles against IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook, who moved up two weight classes and found legitimate success in a thrilling encounter. Golovkin, though, badly damaged Brook’s right eye, which prompted a corner stoppage in round five.
Much of the post-Gennady Golovkin-Kell Brook conversation will center around Dominic Ingle’s decision to throw in the towel and save his fighter from absorbing further punishment at the hands of the relentless and bruising Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs). While opinions will be sharply divided on Ingle’s choice, it shouldn’t overshadow the fight’s substantial action and other storylines.
A strong cohort of fans will likely come away from Gennady Golovkin-Kell Brook more interested in talking about Brook’s performance given the weight and power disparity he bravely and gamely faced. Despite losing, Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) did indeed prove that he’s a genuinely elite fighter, as he bothered Golovkin with both his power and boxing skills.
Another major talking point will be Gennady Golovkin’s performance — one that he rated a three or four out of ten during a post-fight interview. Indeed, Golovkin did eat some hellacious power shots, and he was caught reaching more often than usual; on the other hand, Golovkin was bludgeoning Brook by round five and had started to settle into his rhythm by out-jabbing Brook as the fight wore on.
Here’s Golovkin’s @GGGBoxing stopping Kell Brook in rd 5. #GolovkinBrook #Boxing pic.twitter.com/uk1Bz4dm8l
— Bible of Boxing (@ringmagazine) September 10, 2016
Early, it seemed like Golovkin might dispose of Brook with hardly any ceremony after a massive left hook and follow-up body attack wobbled the crowd favorite minutes into the bout. But Brook, to his massive credit, landed some stinging right uppercuts and pumped a purposeful straight left that actually backed Golovkin up by the end of the round.
Rounds two and three were evenly and hotly contested, and this is where Kell Brook found sustained success. A strong case could be made that he won both rounds, although hardly convincingly. That said, what was particularly impressive was the way Brook dealt with Golovkin’s pressure, retreating with clever half steps and subtle lateral movement that forced Golovkin to miss badly and leave openings for counter flurries from the challenger.
Final Punch Stats for #GGGBrook..@GGGBoxing landed 44% of his total punches in the fight. pic.twitter.com/4JLmlvfRwb
— CompuBox (@CompuBox) September 10, 2016
Even though Gennady Golovkin started round three with frightening aggression, Brook stood his ground and countered with aplomb. Despite Brook snapping Golovkin’s head back with eye-catching work, the seeds of a momentum shift had been planted. Golovkin had badly damaged Brook’s right eye, and he was starting to land his vaunted jab with greater frequency.
Kell Brook slowed in round four to a certain extent, but Golovkin was still having trouble gauging distance in what proved to be a quieter stanza. Brook, though, wasn’t able to return fire as effectively or as often, and Golovkin’s more consistent body work allowed him to cut of the ring with greater ease.
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Gennady Golovkin (blue trunks) and Kell Brook (red trunks) in action during their World Middleweight Title contest at The O2 Arena on September 10, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Everything seemed to come together in round five for Gennady Golovkin, who out-landed Kell Brook 30-6. Golovkin’s barrage of diverse, perfectly placed combinations that pinned Brook along the ropes and then battered him about the ring was clinical. Golovkin had settled in and found his range, and that’s when Dominic Ingle jumped on the ring apron to stop the fight — taking what should be charitably described as a “long game” view of his charge’s career.
In his post-fight interview, Kell Brook talked about seeing multiple Gennady Golovkin’s because of his eye injury — a truly frightening prospect. If Brook’s injury is as serious as he claims, then Ingle most certainly did the right thing; frankly, even if Brook is exaggerating, Ingle hardly robbed his fighter of anything; on the contrary, he showed refreshing compassion.
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Gennady Golovkin (blue trunks) and Kell Brook (red trunks) in action during their World Middleweight Title contest at The O2 Arena on September 10, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
There’s no need to overreact about this fight. In the specific context of the bout, Kell Brook proved to be more competitive and compelling than any previous Golovkin foe; Gennady Golovkin, on the other hand, was not “exposed” in the slightest. Simply put, Golovkin-Brook was a thrilling brawl that saw a seemingly invincible champion finally get tested by his best opponent to date.
If Kell Brook can still make welterweight, top 147-pounders have been put on notice. If he settles in at 154, he fits nicely in a supremely talented division where he could reign supreme. As for Gennady Golovkin, the great middleweight champion should still be favored to annihilate anyone at 160 pounds, and the hope here is that some of those fighters will finally step up and face him.
More from The Living Daylights
This article originally appeared on 
