IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook has been tagged as the underdog in his upcoming fight against unbeaten unified middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin but halfway to his training he believes he would be fiercer as he moves up to the 160 pounds limit.
Brook found himself moving up two weight classes in a hurriedly negotiated fight against Golovkin set for Sept. 10 at the The O2 Arena in London, England. The 30-year-old fighter from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, has been campaigning in the 147 pounds welterweight limit and it will be his first time to move two notches up to face Golovkin at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds. In the WBC 30-day weigh-in, Brook surpassed Goliovkin’s weight of 165 at 176, a difference of 11 pounds. This show Brook can play around with his weight leading up to their Sept. 10 clash. It also shows that Brook is ripe for a competitive match beyond the welterweight limit and his decision to move up in an effort to face Golovkin for a lucrative fight is timely. If he performs well against Golovkin even if he loses, Brook can settle at either 154 or 160 where he is comfortable and with a wider choices of opponents. “I’m normally heavy. Not as heavy as I am now but with the science behind it, I’ve been working my legs with the weights but keeping the speed and movement. I’ve been using all the ring and probably a bit too much, getting used to moving a lot because anything that can happen on the night,” Brook told Sky Sports. “I’m heavy but I’m using this heaviness as I would as a welterweight – keeping the speed but I’m more vicious, more natural and stronger at this weight,” he added. Golovkin, who currently holds four major world titles, is one of the most feared boxers in the middleweight division having knocked out 32 of his 35 opponents since turning pro in 2006. Brook is fresh off a TKO win against Kevin Bizier in March to retain his IBF title. Both fighters are unbeaten in their pro careers after engaging 36 foes each in their professional career. Golovkin has a 91 percent knockout rate, while Brook has a knockout rating of 69 percent. Read more Brook knows he has a formidable opponent come fight night but he said he and his team have been working on things that would address Goloivkin’s power and style. “Anything we’re working on, we’re keeping close to our chest. This is the fight and you can get hurt in there so I need to be 100 per cent in it,” he said.
