Kell Brook vs Gennady Golovkin continues British tradition of hard to invent fights, says Steve Bunce

On Saturday in Cardiff the greatest Cuban boxer to ever climb over the wall and escape, to what was always called the West in the Cold War heyday, will fight for a world title against a kid called Jazza Dickens from Liverpool.

Guillermo Rigondeaux defected twice, broke Fidel Castro's heart on both occasions and for six years has been winning world title fights as one of the most avoided professional boxers in the sport. His unlikely arrival in Cardiff is courtesy of some Mexican human traffickers, a publican from Cork and some astute business ballet from promoter Frank Warren. Boxing promoters are the world's finest sporting diplomats.

There is a fun history of great fighters showing up in odd British rings, and in 1908 Jack Johnson, in the fight before he became world heavyweight champion, fought Ben Taylor at the Old Cosmo Ice Rink in Plymouth. There was another memorable cameo at an ice rink when the faded shell of Sugar Ray Robinson lost to Mike Leahy in 1964 at the Paisley Rink.

In 1977 Leon Spinks in his full fur coat and gold-toothed goofiness arrived in Liverpool Stadium, now demolished, for an undercard fight on a John Conteh night, a few months after winning Olympic gold; Spinks won in 86 seconds against Bolton's Peter Freeman, in what was his second fight and just 11 months later he beat Muhammad Ali for the world title. Late one night in 1999 the truly great Tommy Hearns fought in front of a stupefied crowd in Manchester in a totally forgettable fight; Hearns entered the ring just three more times, each outing hurting his legacy.

The news this week that Sheffield's Kell Brook, a world champion at welterweight, will fight Gennady Golovkin, who is known as triple G, in September at the O2 arena in London is firmly part of the same odd tradition of great fighters showing up in British rings. Golovkin is unbeaten in 35 fights with 32 ending early, including 17 consecutive world title fights at middleweight. He holds three versions of the world title, his challengers so far have been sent tumbling over thirty times to the canvas and the Kazak icon delivers such terrific lines so regularly that I have often wondered if he is a fan of Borat.

“I give big drama fight in London,” promised Golovkin, who is arguably he best fighter in the world right now.

Golovkin has met British boxers before, stopping Matt Macklin and Martin Murray in world title fights, but both had been middleweights, both had been fringe contenders waiting their turn. Macklin and Murray were slowly beaten, methodically broken in vintage “big drama” fights by Golovkin. They were the type of fights where the beaten men sit in wonder, pain and astonishment at the end with no clear idea about what has just happened.

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The shock selection of Brook, who will need to officially gain 13 pounds for the fight, only enhances the spectacle: Golovkin in a Brtish ring against anybody is an event, but against the unbeaten Brook, who has been trained in the boxing arts by two generations of Ingles, a boxing clan with near mystical qualities, only increases the interest. Brook has made three easy defence of his title, barely broken a sweat since winning the belt in California in the summer of 2014.

Golovkin was expected to meet Chris Eubank Jr but that match collapsed in vicious acrimony, expected comedy and enough farce to serve as a harsh reminder to everybody in the business that it is a sport devoid of any functioning guidelines. As Eubank Jr and his father, Chris, who is now known simply as English, played silly buggers, the promoter Eddie Hearn spoke to Brook and agreed a deal. Brook by the way is unlikely to ever be able to make the welterweight limit of 147 pounds again and walks around closer to 175 pounds.

A week after Brook fights Golovkin there is another crazy fight involving a British boxer when Liverpool's Liam Smith meets Saul Canelo Alvarez in America. Alvarez is the biggest attraction in the sport right now, a huge crossover star and he will be the challenger on the night for Smith's WBO light-middleweight title.

Sugar Ray in Paisley, Jack Johnson in Plymouth and Neon Leon in Liverpool form a fine trinity, but Rigondeaux in Cardiff, Golovkin in London and Smith against Canelo in a total of just eight weeks is ridiculous.

The Raging Bull, Jake LaMotta, was 95 this week and is officially the oldest living former world champion. He married his seventh wife, Denise, in 2013 and still lives with her in New York.