Gennady Golovkin, GGG, is a household name to boxing fans. But he faced a long road before arriving at boxing superstardom. Golovkin battered opponents for years before landing his blockbuster matchups with Canelo Alvarez. As the hype for a fight between the two grew in 2016, negotiations between the Canelo and GGG camps fell apart, and Golovkin looked for a new opponent. Golovin agreed to fight British middleweight Chris Eubank Jr., but that fight fell apart shortly thereafter, and Kell Brook was named as a replacement.
The fight was intriguing. Kell Brook was the reigning IBF welterweight champion and undefeated at 36-0. The fight was scheduled to take place at the O2 Arena in London and highly publicized. Brook looked physically strong heading into the fight. But he was moving up two weight classes and 13 pounds to fight at middleweight.
GGG entered the match having stopped his previous 22 opponents. At the age of 34, he was finally getting international recognition. The fight offered Golovkin an opportunity to fight a well-known boxer as he sought to increase the demand for a fight with Canelo.
The fight started off with Golovkin pursuing Kell Brook around the ring, similar to many of GGG’s fights. Golovkin wobbled Brook early in the fight, but Kell Brook showed flashes of aggression and was able to land against GGG in spurts. [ROUNDS 1 and 2]
As the fight progressed, GGG become more aggressive. But Brook never stopped fighting, and was able to come alive and land in bunches as GGG stalked him around the ring. [ROUNDS 3 - 5]
Brook’s corner stopped the fight in round 5. Earlier in the fight, it was apparent that Brook was dealing with an eye issue, as he repeatedly touched his right eye. Brook’s corner was increasingly concerned with that eye as the fight progressed, and Brook’s trainer called the fight when he had seen enough. After the stoppage, Brook immediately confronted his corner, and his trainer’s response was to point to the area under the eye. It was later revealed that Brook suffered an orbital bone fracture, or a broken eye socket on the right side of his face. Brook would later endure surgery in which his eye was temporarily removed while a titanium plate was put into place and drilled in with screws. Brook’s career went on, and GGG landed his biggest fights the following year.
Looking back, it was a fight that had meaningful consequences for both Golovkin and Brook. And while the fight lasted less than five full rounds, it was an action-packed event to be remembered.