Gennady Golovkin vs Kell Brook: Brit faces six months reflection but throwing in the towel ensures he will recover
Brook will not fight for at half a year after he undergoes surgery on his eye on Monday
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Brook's broken night.
It was inside two minutes when Gennady Golovkin maimed Kell Brook on Saturday night with a perfectly legal left hook to the right eye socket in front of a hopeful capacity crowd of 19,000 at the O2 Arena.
Brook never recovered, had to take a risk in the second round, knowing his vision would not last, and was saved by his corner in the fifth round when he was on his feet but just a few lethal punches away from a bad beating. The crowd booed the mercy decision by Dominic Ingle, a man that has known Brook for 20 years, but they were not poised in the corner, listening as each sickening punch from the Kazak crunched home. It is a rare thing to watch a kid you believe to be unbeatable suddenly helpless on the ropes, his face changing with every chopping shot that connects; Ingle got it right and the end was a relief.
In the subdued aftermath Brook went to hospital where a scan revealed a cracked right eye socket and he will have surgery on Monday, which means he will not fight for six months and that is only sensible. On Saturday night Brook and everybody in the Brook business - he entered the ring unbeaten in 36 fights and the welterweight champion of the world - took a beating and that is what can happen in the boxing game when a fighter is bold and brave enough to take a risk.
Golovkin retained his middleweight title for the 17th time, each championship fight has ended before the final bell, and he has now finished his last 23 fights, a streak that started in 2008, inside the distance. On Saturday he was made to think, to really work hard at times before he methodically started to take control and impose his bulk on Brook, who had gained 13 pounds of solid muscle during a summer of preparation. Brook took the type of punches that have sent dozens of men spiralling to the canvas, often out cold and stiff before their heads hit the mat, and he never went down, suggesting that the move up in weight should be permanent. If Brook can reduce the struggle to make the welterweight limit, which would mean surrendering his title, then he will clearly be a better and stronger fighter.
"I needed two eyes to beat him," Brook explained. "I couldn't see and I knew that was bad. I never wanted Dom to stop it, but I know he saved me." There was an alarming point in the fifth and final round, just before Ingle climbed the steps and tossed in the towel, when Brook's resistance was gone, totally gone. He was stuck on the ropes, offering nothing more than his large heart and he even motioned Golovkin to come in and finish it; at that point Brook was willing to get knocked out rather than stopped on his feet. Ingle, wisely, denied him the dumb prize and that is because he had nothing left to prove and his health to lose.
"Kell Brook never knew how to lose, but Gennady knows how to win," said Abel Sanchez, the gently spoken trainer from California who has transformed Golovkin from top amateur, one of the last relics of the Soviet system, into arguably the best fighter in the world right now. "Dominic did the right thing at the right time. It was some fight for the fans."
Golovkin praised Brook, insisting that he had been forced to brawl, fight a "street fight" instead of a "boxing match", and that had been a shock to him. "I tried to box, but he wanted to have street fight and I agreed with him - it was a great fight, he is a great fighter," said Golovkin.
Brook had nothing left to offer and thankfully nobody is claiming the injury changed the fight's outcome, which would be like saying: "If I had not been knocked out, I could have won." Brook did everything possible against a man that dismisses the very best with tiny shrugs, sardonic gestures and vicious punches. In about six months we will all get to assess how much damage the risk in taking the fight and the beating has scarred Brook, and hopefully our judgment will not be too serious.
Golovkin, meanwhile, will drape himself in another ornate Kazak robe, known as a Shapan which is often lined with swan down, and meet with the Kazak community that came out to support him. He is a national idol, but more than that he is a great boxing role model.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments