Why Kell Brook is set to win even in defeat to Gennady Golovkin

Kell Brook was one of the last boxers anyone thought would end up as the man to step up to the challenge of Gennady Golovkin.

Not only is ‘GGG’ arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport today and the proud owner of a devastating record of 35-0 as a professional with the last 22 all coming inside the distance, but Brook - an undefeated world champion in his own right - is moving up two weight classes from welterweight to middleweight to do so.

While the history of boxing is filled with classic instances of welters and middles going toe-to-toe, the only people who have managed to talk about anything other than another Golovkin stoppage victory are those on Brook’s team and the broadcasters tied to an exclusive deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom, who promote ‘Special K’.

Just because Brook is extremely unlikely to win this fight, however, does not mean this isn’t the best thing to happen to his career thus far.

First and foremost is the unblemished record. At some stage in Kell’s active boxing career, he’s going to lose. Very few fighters go their whole careers without a single defeat and those that pull it off are either among the very elite or actively avoid big tests to protect their ‘perfect’ image. To be honest, Brook is neither of those.

While it’s hard to imagine Golovkin ever being beaten - at least for the time being - Brook won his welterweight crown from Shawn Porter in a very close decision. He’s also come close to being caught out on several occasions, though for each one of these he has also entered more than one excellent and decisive performance against a worthy adversary.

So, when that time comes for Brook’s 0 to go, Golovkin is pretty much the most understandable first dent on the resume.

It’s also a very lucrative and high-profile dent, at that. Brook will make great money for such a fight, after he and Hearn have spent so long struggling to elevate his name value. Every boxer strives to one day be a world champion. When they achieve that, the next step is to get the big fights that people remember for years to come.

And after seeking that for ages against domestic rival Amir Khan to no avail, a strong performance in defeat to Golovkin would help make up for the years of stalling that chasing the Khan fight has cost them.

If the words being thrown around on fight week are to be believed, there’s also a victory for Brook that even a first-round blitzing at the fists of GGG couldn’t take away: happiness.

Brook and his trainer Dominic Ingle have said ever since the fight was shockingly announced in early July that Brook has a natural frame for middleweight. He is already bigger than Golovkin, judging by some of the early weight checks.

Ingle explained at Canary Wharf on Thursday that Kell has been happy throughout a training camp for the first time, because he doesn’t have to go through hell to make the welterweight cut.

While I’ve never taken kindly to a boxer claiming they’re unhappy cutting weight to drop down the divisions - clearly, they’re opting to go through this rather than fight at the weight they claim they’d be ‘100%’ at for a reason - it’s nonetheless good to see that Brook seems happy with both his training process and what he’s training for, these days.

On Saturday, a victory for Kell Brook would absolutely make his career. But yes, it’s probably not going to happen. And yet, for all the reasons listed above, even a defeat in Golovkin’s much-anticipated UK debut will finally help move the Sheffield fighter closer to where he belongs: recognised and appreciated for being a top-class boxer and entertainer, even if the proverbial penthouse occupied by the very elite such as Gennady is indeed a stretch too far.

More importantly, maybe - just maybe - this bout will finally bring us closer to Brook vs Khan.