Look out, Kell! It’s boxing’s Mr Punch
THere is a sign above the square in which the great gennady golovkin made his first appearance in a London ring. It reads: ‘Punch and Judy’.
many of the hundreds who gathered in the plaza at Covent garden fear that will be the appropriate title for Saturday night’s world middleweight title fight in the O2 arena.
Punch, they suspect, will be the name for mr golovkin once he has dealt with the challenge from Britain’s Kell Brook.
Sheffield’s favourite son is making the hazardous move up by two weight divisions from welterweight.
While Brook has been piling on the pounds in an attempt to close the natural fighting weight gap, it is the question of punching power which dominates the pre- fight conversation.
golovkin and Brook worked out in a ring temporarily erected just around the corner from the stage door of the royal Opera House.
The danger for British hopes is that the most lurid of the dramatics will come from the Kazakh KO merchant. golovkin felled 32 of his 35 opponents in his unbeaten rise to the top of boxing’s pound-for-pound rankings. One of the closest observers of his hitting on this occasion was London’s new Olympic bronze medallist, Joshua Buatsi.
Home now from rio, Buatsi said: ‘We’re all behind Kell but I’ve come today to see if it’s true what they say about the sound of Triple g’s power when he works the pads.’
after listening for a few minutes — and don’t forget that Buatsi works at light- heavyweight — he said: ‘Wow. Did you hear that? It’s like a thunderclap.’
Brook received louder patriotic support — as opposed to the curiosity which greeted golovkin — when he followed Triple g into the ring.
golovkin smiles, as he does in all circumstances.
When asked about the extra weight Brook is now carrying, golovkin said: ‘Very interesting. I’m taking Kell seriously.’
GOLOVKIN v Brook will be televised live on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday night.