IF Brook was to surprise a few people?

[Stuarty]

Now I don't think Kell has it in him to win this. It would be one of the biggest upsets in my lifetime if he did. However I don't think he's going to take the tanking that a lot of people are predicting. That being said, what if Brook does have a good go and shows a good few chinks in GGGs armour..... Does anyone think that then Canelo or even FMJ could then be tempted into a super fight?

I didn't word that correctly apologies. I meant into a fight with GGG if Brook were to expose a few things? Works for Brook also right enough. If he does put up a good show it would be good to see him mentioned in more of these type of fights. If not at 147 (which I doubt he'll make again) then there's some good fights at 154....

[danamba7]

Yeah I think Kell will lose but put up a good performance and his stock will rise massively. And Brook v Canelo would be incredible, evenly matched in my opinion.

[Shirow]

Brook is the best boxer than GGG will have been in with so i think he will look better than anyone for spells.

In a lot of ways this will be like a technically superior version of Canelo v Khan. GGG will be swiping at air and Kell will be landing counters and it will look like the impossible could happen until GGG adjusts and starts bashing him up. GGG may lose more rounds than he has in any other fight even though i reckon he ends it by half way or soon after.

So i reckon Kell's stock will rise and he'll come back to LMW and slot in right at the top.

[bigjack]

Brook is the best boxer than GGG will have been in with so i think he will look better than anyone for spells.

In a lot of ways this will be like a technically superior version of Canelo v Khan. GGG will be swiping at air and Kell will be landing counters and it will look like the impossible could happen until GGG adjusts and starts bashing him up. GGG may lose more rounds than he has in any other fight even though i reckon he ends it by half way or soon after.

So i reckon Kell's stock will rise and he'll come back to LMW and slot in right at the top.

That's how i see it going,but for me i'm very interested to see how kell looks at middleweight,there may not be much in it size wise.

[littlepug]

Brook is the best boxer than GGG will have been in with so i think he will look better than anyone for spells.

In a lot of ways this will be like a technically superior version of Canelo v Khan. GGG will be swiping at air and Kell will be landing counters and it will look like the impossible could happen until GGG adjusts and starts bashing him up. GGG may lose more rounds than he has in any other fight even though i reckon he ends it by half way or soon after.

So i reckon Kell's stock will rise and he'll come back to LMW and slot in right at the top.

That's how i see it going,but for me i'm very interested to see how kell looks at middleweight,there may not be much in it size wise.

maybe not but GGGs strength and power will most certainly alarm brook and being not particuarly fast of foot only means an early bath for kell, the way some folk have been going on you would think theres more to brooks game than meets the eye, well if there is he has kept it well hidden

[Boxerbeetle]

Brook is the best boxer than GGG will have been in with so i think he will look better than anyone for spells.

In a lot of ways this will be like a technically superior version of Canelo v Khan. GGG will be swiping at air and Kell will be landing counters and it will look like the impossible could happen until GGG adjusts and starts bashing him up. GGG may lose more rounds than he has in any other fight even though i reckon he ends it by half way or soon after.

So i reckon Kell's stock will rise and he'll come back to LMW and slot in right at the top.

That's how i see it going,but for me i'm very interested to see how kell looks at middleweight,there may not be much in it size wise.

I definitely don't see GGG 'swiping at air', he's a better boxer than Brook.

[Oiky]

It would be huge if he pulled off the upset. Massive upset. But it's not going to happen.

[leejonesjnr]

A good showing could see him get an Alvarez fight at 154 for the WBO title if Canelo beats Smith.

[Counter-puncher]

is he hiding in a dark alleway and waiting for unsuspecting pedestrians to pass, with some kind of popgun?

[jamesmcdonnell]

If Brook manages to last the distance, it will be a major achievement, especially if he does so without running like a thief.

[arlovski]

Brook is the best boxer than GGG will have been in with so i think he will look better than anyone for spells.

In a lot of ways this will be like a technically superior version of Canelo v Khan. GGG will be swiping at air and Kell will be landing counters and it will look like the impossible could happen until GGG adjusts and starts bashing him up. GGG may lose more rounds than he has in any other fight even though i reckon he ends it by half way or soon after.

So i reckon Kell's stock will rise and he'll come back to LMW and slot in right at the top.

That's how i see it going,but for me i'm very interested to see how kell looks at middleweight,there may not be much in it size wise.

maybe not but GGGs strength and power will most certainly alarm brook and being not particuarly fast of foot only means an early bath for kell, the way some folk have been going on you would think theres more to brooks game than meets the eye, well if there is he has kept it well hidden

Agreed, same as with Khan-Canelo, as soon as the fight was announced people were seeing things that simply weren't there for Khan - ability to box to a plan for 12 rounds, concentration, Canelo can't deal with his speed etc

Brook has done absolutely nothing in his career to suggest that this fight will be competitive, the only way it goes rounds is if Golovkin starts slowly and (chooses to) gradually work his way into it. If he comes out aggressive he ends Brook early.

Brook has been hurt by welters ffs, he's not especially hard to hit, good on the inside, swift of foot or has an exceptional boxing IQ or power.
His main weapons in recent years have been his sheer size and athletic advantages over his opponents - which are exactly the things that are gonna count for nothing in this fight.

Golovkin is better in every single department - power, judgement of distance, chin, durability, work rate, timing, overall ring intelligence.

It's a known fact that GGG has power to trouble supermiddles+cruisers and gives them regular hidings in sparring (Kovalev, Chavez, Groves etc), his power is shocking, just look how every single fighter he faces reacts when they get hit early rounds - straight into their shell on the back foot into survival mode, and that's big, solid, natural middleweights.

Brook will be troubled by every single shot landed on him from the first bell, if he fiddles his way through a few rounds on the back foot it's irrelevant really, he's still getting stopped, and this fight goes no way to proving whether his ONE (1) close win over a world class opponent gives him or Hearn any right to claim he's the top dog or worthy of 'super fights' in any weight division he ends up in next

[jamesmcdonnell]

That's how i see it going,but for me i'm very interested to see how kell looks at middleweight,there may not be much in it size wise.

maybe not but GGGs strength and power will most certainly alarm brook and being not particuarly fast of foot only means an early bath for kell, the way some folk have been going on you would think theres more to brooks game than meets the eye, well if there is he has kept it well hidden

Agreed, same as with Khan-Canelo, as soon as the fight was announced people were seeing things that simply weren't there for Khan - ability to box to a plan for 12 rounds, concentration, Canelo can't deal with his speed etc

Brook has done absolutely nothing in his career to suggest that this fight will be competitive, the only way it goes rounds is if Golovkin starts slowly and (chooses to) gradually work his way into it. If he comes out aggressive he ends Brook early.

Brook has been hurt by welters ffs, he's not especially hard to hit, good on the inside, swift of foot or has an exceptional boxing IQ or power.
His main weapons in recent years have been his sheer size and athletic advantages over his opponents - which are exactly the things that are gonna count for nothing in this fight.

Golovkin is better in every single department - power, judgement of distance, chin, durability, work rate, timing, overall ring intelligence.

It's a known fact that GGG has power to trouble supermiddles+cruisers and gives them regular hidings in sparring (Kovalev, Chavez, Groves etc), his power is shocking, just look how every single fighter he faces reacts when they get hit early rounds - straight into their shell on the back foot into survival mode, and that's big, solid, natural middleweights.

Brook will be troubled by every single shot landed on him from the first bell, if he fiddles his way through a few rounds on the back foot it's irrelevant really, he's still getting stopped, and this fight goes no way to proving whether his ONE (1) close win over a world class opponent gives him or Hearn any right to claim he's the top dog or worthy of 'super fights' in any weight division he ends up in next

couldn't agree more, people are just living in a fantasy world, there's absolutely no reason to see Brook having any chance. If he was the second coming of Sugar Ray leonard, I could understand it, but he just doesn't have that sort of skill set, and he's going to get hit and hurt early and repeatedly until either he quits, his corner/ref stop it, or he gets knocked out.

It will be brutal and one sided, as you would expect.

[Taansend]

He has more chance of surprising people if he jumped out of a cake and shouted "BOO"

[emallini]

It's a horrible styles match up for Brook. He can't defend himself at mid or close range. He relies on leaning back and using his feet for distance. GGG will cut him off and Brook will be in survival mode straight away trying to hold.

[SFW]

Brook has a sharp jab but he doesn't move his head much, doubt he's gonna win a jabbing contest with GGG which is what he'd have to do to if he wants to win rounds. 1-2 rounds he may get, no more. He is getting hunted down and stopped mid rounds, fulfilling the British prophecy of the lovable loser with a heroic effort.

The look in Kell's eyes when he eats the first hard power shot is going to be telling.

[Taansend]

The look in Kell's eyes when he eats the first hard power shot is going to be telling.

Funnily enough, Martin Murray said he prepared himself for Golovkins power & was surprised that he didn't hit as hard as he thought.

But the speed, variety & placement f*cked him up. Add to that GGG's fantastic movement & balance & you're in for a tough night.

I like Kell - & hope he wins - but even if he was a champion at the same weight as Golovkin I'd still have him as a 5/1 underdog.

[SFW]

The look in Kell's eyes when he eats the first hard power shot is going to be telling.

Funnily enough, Martin Murray said he prepared himself for Golovkins power & was surprised that he didn't hit as hard as he thought.

But the speed, variety & placement f*cked him up. Add to that GGG's fantastic movement & balance & you're in for a tough night.

I like Kell - & hope he wins - but even if he was a champion at the same weight as Golovkin I'd still have him as a 5/1 underdog.

I believe Lemieux said something similar to Murray, the power wasn't overwhelming but the whole package made Golovkin devastating. I could see Kell winning a few rounds it'd be great if he found a way to win but he has a near impossible task at hand all factors considered.

[ALI]

Brook may land a few good shots to give us all a little buzz, but that's the best I can see happening for him. GGG will dictate the fight from the get go, he will walk Brook down cutting the ring off, and he will progressively break him down.

It will be relatively one sided for as long as it lasts, but that's not to say Brook can't come out of this with credit. He might get bashed up as the rounds progress, but if he shows bravery, lands a few good shots here and there, and keeps some rounds close, he can walk away with his head held high. In my opinion that's the best case scenario he can hope for.

[Autobarn]

Welterweight champs often get battered by middleweight champs. Naples by Monzon, Hearns by Hagler, Trinidad and de la Hoya by Hopkins (though in the latter cases the natural welterweights had already picked up alphabet middleweight belts).

Golovkin will be following a middleweight tradition by defending against the top regarded welterweight (Ring mag have Brook in at 1 in their welterweight ratings and I believe he's still in the pound for pound top10) although in this case Brook is not a superstar. So it was funny to see Bob Arum, promoter of classic middleweight bouts, expressing so much bafflement.

Brook interestingly said "you will see all of me" in this fight. In that the extra poundage will allow him to show extra vitality and other physical attributes that perhaps he had to hold in against for instance Shawn Porter when Kell seemed to steal enough rounds to win away from home. It is possible Kell can make Golovkin look somewhat slow and even wide punching at times. But I think Brook will use up way too much energy to outbox Golovkin in the early going and when Golovkin's body shots start to sink in the challenger could have some horrible moments.

Hoping for a monumental effort byKell Brook. Hopefully he knows something we don't. Maybe Golovkin has already peaked, maybe the middleweight champion is losing something continually making the 160 poundage whereas Brook will gain something by moving up. Maybe it will be harder for Golovkin to find a rhythm to dish out one of his systematic be stings, against a smaller, slicker man? Just to be optimistic and for the sake of balance.

Trying to think of British fighters taking two steps up in weight. Other than Khan. Robbie Regan jumping from flyweight (defeat to Alberto Jiminez WBO champ) to beat Daniel Jiminez in a riveting fight for the WBO bantam title. Though Jiminez was not an elite level champion like Golovkin...there's also Duke McKenzie adding Gaby Canizales' bantamweight title to his earlier flyweight glory, although Duke had been ca,paining at bantam for a while. Canizales, like Golovkin, was a known puncher, though not as rounded. And also, was traveling to the UK for the first time. And Kell is possibly our slickest, tidiest operator since Duke.

[Loynesy]

Eubank jumped from SM to Cruiser to fight the Cat.

[Autobarn]

Great example. Eubank v Carl Thompson.

He did gain something, athletically, that he'd been lacking as well.

Thompson really was surprised by the speed and coordination of Eubank and Eubank could possibly have stopped him early, had he pressed the action. Which, ad,tiredly, isn't in his temperament (see the first Collins fight).

Then the fight settled midway, leading to the best exchanges I've ever seen in a British ring. Thompson's strength and power took over but Eubank landed startling counters making it a very tight contest to score.

[MightyWarrior]

Tony Sibson jumped up to a LH title shot, from middleweight - no super middle back then though I think

and like most taking one of these jackpot long shots, it was at the end of his career.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Great example. Eubank v Carl Thompson.

He did gain something, athletically, that he'd been lacking as well.

Thompson really was surprised by the speed and coordination of Eubank and Eubank could possibly have stopped him early, had he pressed the action. Which, ad,tiredly, isn't in his temperament (see the first Collins fight).

Then the fight settled midway, leading to the best exchanges I've ever seen in a British ring. Thompson's strength and power took over but Eubank landed startling counters making it a very tight contest to score.

Eubank was a beast that night, both nights, what tremendous heart he showed, he may be a popinjay outside the ring, but inside it, he was the real deal, not the most talented of fighters, but absolutely resolute in the face of pitched battle. You'd want him alongside you in the trenches, - until of course he started talking, at which point you'd be constantly offering him a light in the hope someone blew his head off.

[adamwillan]

Christ I was buzzing about having a ticket for this until I read this page.

Not saying any of you are wrong, I would just like to forget about the whole truth a little bit for the sake of excitement :-).

Watching Brook smash up almost every opponent he's faced over last 5 years has probably made me have a higher opinion of him than he deserves, it's hard sometimes to distinguish between his quality or the lack of in his opponents unless you really know your boxing. Not looking at his chances in this fight but aren't you all being a bit harsh about his boxing abilty/skills, it's surely not just been down to his big ww size

[Autobarn]

Great example. Eubank v Carl Thompson.

He did gain something, athletically, that he'd been lacking as well.

Thompson really was surprised by the speed and coordination of Eubank and Eubank could possibly have stopped him early, had he pressed the action. Which, ad,tiredly, isn't in his temperament (see the first Collins fight).

Then the fight settled midway, leading to the best exchanges I've ever seen in a British ring. Thompson's strength and power took over but Eubank landed startling counters making it a very tight contest to score.

Eubank was a beast that night, both nights, what tremendous heart he showed, he may be a popinjay outside the ring, but inside it, he was the real deal, not the most talented of fighters, but absolutely resolute in the face of pitched battle. You'd want him alongside you in the trenches, - until of course he started talking, at which point you'd be constantly offering him a light in the hope someone blew his head off.

Eubank was weird. Had terrible concentration and never,earned how to fight coming forward and was a poor tactician. But if someone forced him to fight, he'd dig deep and find something. His remarkable snap and reflexes certainly helped. As was the case vs Benn 1, Watson 2 and especially the first of the two withThompson.

Kell is going to have to be as tough in the Golovkin fight as Eubank was in the Thompson wars.