Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, raises his fist into the air after winning via TKO against Dominic Wade last April (Photo : Getty Images / Harry How)
A former world champion offered his thoughts regarding the much-anticipated middleweight clash next month featuring undisputed champion Gennady Golovkin (35-0, 32 KO) and challenger Kell Brook (36-0, 25 KO). Johnny Nelson, a former WBO cruiserweight champion, said that Brook should attack Golovkin right from the opening bell in order to have the best chance of winning.
Speaking about Brook, Nelson said, "He needs to jump on him, because Kell has the speed. Kell will have the freshness." He added that the last two fighters Golovkin faced, Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray, were forced on their back foot which was why they got knocked out eventually. Nelson said that Brook has to be the one to force the middleweight champion onto his back foot by pressuring him early.
Nelson also said that people don't give Brook a chance to win the fight, but disagreed with them by saying his fellow British fighter has a chance, albeit a slim one. "I don't say he wins, but he's got a slim chance," opined Nelson in a report by BoxingNews24.
Regarding Nelson's advice, it would be difficult (but not impossible) for Brook to get the jump on Golovkin early in the bout. Brook is climbing two weight classes from welterweight, where he is the current IBF champion, in order to face the reigning 160-pound champion.
Golovkin is well-known for his tremendous punching power and body attack, so if Brook will try to attack early, he might be prone to counter shots and body blows, both of which Golovkin is very good at.
One motivation for Brook could be that if he manages to pull off the upset, he will bring glory once again to the famed Wincobank gym in Sheffield, where past champions such as Nelson and "Prince" Naseem Hamed once trained, according to East Side Boxing. Brook's trainer Dominic Ingle noted that it would be the "biggest achievement" for himself and the gym if his fighter beats the unified world middleweight titleholder.
The middleweight title match is scheduled for September 10 at the O2 Arena in London.
Nelson, who currently works as a fight analyst, shared his thoughts on the video below.
