Kell Brook Wins Fight for Respect but Gennady Golovkin Just Too Much to Handle

It didn't even last 15 minutes; however, Gennady Golovkin and Kell Brook packed a lot into their fight at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday.

For the opening three rounds, it was edge-of-your seat stuff. The action was absorbing, exciting, exhilarating, riveting. Pick whatever adjective you want to use.

The contest was, well, a contest.

Golovkin had looked capable of winning in a hurry when he had Brook unsteady on his feet in Round 1. Triple G landed high on the head with a right hand and then quickly followed up with two left hooks, one apiece to the body and head.

Brook’s sturdy legs threatened to buckle, yet he clung on and cleared his head. It wasn’t long before he had his own moments of success, earning nods of approval from his opponent as he landed clean shots.

In Round 2, the Englishman even had the audacity to take the fight to Golovkin.

He jabbed and moved, made use of wide hooks around the side of Triple G's guard and landed one uppercut in the final minute that had the crowd up on their feet.

There had always been patriotic hope beforehand, but as the bell sounded to end the round, there was suddenly a spreading sense of expectation.

He couldn’t, could he? He couldn’t mosey up from welterweight and defeat someone considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, could he?

Nope.

In the midst of the mayhem in Round 2, Brook suffered a broken right eye socket. No amount of dabbing at the area with his glove or blinking extravagantly could fix the damage.

Golovkin showed no mercy. He had promised to put on a show for the British fans, and that's exactly what he did.

It was time to show who was boss in the ring.

When the Kazakh steamed in and unloaded power punch after power punch in Round 5, Brook's trainer Dominic Ingle had seen enough.

With Brook struggling to see and now shipping punishment with little in return, Ingle threw in the towel. Well, he waved it for several seconds before finally throwing it in to notify referee Marlon Wright.

Debate the timing of the stoppage all you like (and plenty did on Twitter straight after the event), but you cannot question that the writing was already daubed all over the wall.

Brook had bitten off more than he could chew. Ingle—who has known his boxer since childhood—rightly stepped in. He has a duty of care to his fighter, not to entertain the masses. The booing that greeted the trainer's post-fight interview in the ring was wrong. Just plain wrong.

Moving up two divisions wasn’t the issue for The Special One. The problem was the fighter he picked to face for his first outing over the championship distance at 160 pounds.

There is no shame in losing to someone of Golovkin’s quality. The 34-year-old from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, is so special we now just expect him to systematically destroy every man he's pitted against.

As Jonathan Snowden wrote for Bleacher Report, Triple G makes the amazing look routine.

But Brook didn’t take up the challenge to earn pats on the back for being brave in defeat. He believed he could cause the mother of all upsets.

Brits love a plucky loser. Norman Miller pointed out in the Telegraph how Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards is a national treasure despite finishing last in not one but two ski-jumping events at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Brook is much more than that. Sure, he was an outsider. He’s far richer for signing up to fight Golovkin, that’s for certain. But this was his chance to leave a lasting mark on British boxing—an opportunity to write his name into folklore and be remembered forever.

Just imagine being able to say you were the one to end Triple G's air of invincibility. How good would that be?

Now, though, Brook has to forget what might have been and consider where to go next.

You might think his efforts in defeat would open doors. The problem is, though, there may not be quite as many routes to explore as you think.

According to Golovkin’s post-fight quotes to Sky Sports Box Office (h/t James Dielhenn of SkySports.com), the beaten fighter shouldn’t hang around in his division.

"I promised to bring a big drama show because I know Kell is a huge fighter, a very good fighter—but sorry, he's not a middleweight," he said. "I know my style. I respect him, he's good, but not so strong."

Fighting Golovkin is hardly a barometer for Brook’s potential future as a middleweight. Those extra 13 pounds were a bonus in training camp. He would fancy his chances against some of the lesser names.

While still the IBF welterweight champion, The Special One admitted to the Press Association (h/t the Guardian) he had found it so hard to get down to 147 pounds in the past that it was a "struggle to walk to the weigh-in."

Errol Spence Jr. is impatiently waiting in the wings as the mandatory challenger:

The answer for Brook most likely sits in between his last two weights. At 154 pounds, super welterweight (or light middleweight, if you prefer) seems to make the most sense.

Brook hinted as much, saying he would relish facing the winner of next Sunday’s fight between WBO champion Liam Smith—who he recently sparred with—and Saul Alvarez.

According to the Los Angeles Times' Lance Pugmire, Canelo—if triumphant in Dallas—will be back out on December 10. Considering Brook needs surgery to repair his damaged eye, that date is too soon for him.

But here's the real problem with the switch for Brook, as Paulie Malignaggi—who perhaps put in the best performance of the night while on the microphone for UK broadcasters Sky Sports—made clear: Super welterweight is stacked right now.

Here's the top 10 in the class, according to The Ring:

	Record	Title
1. Erislandy Lara	23-2-2 (13 KOs)	WBA
2. Jermall Charlo	24-0 (18 KOs)	IBF
3. Miguel Cotto	40-5 (33 KOs)
4. Jermell Charlo	28-0 (13 KOs)	WBC
5. Demetrius Andrade	23-0 (16 KOs)
6. Austin Trout	30-3 (17 KOs)
7. Julian Williams	22-0-1 (14 KOs)
8. Liam Smith	23-0-1 (13 KOs)	WBO
9. Vanes Martirosyan	36-3-1 (21 KOs)
10. Jack Culcay	22-1 (11 KOs)

That's a seriously solid list to pick from, even without the returning Canelo. You could also throw Omar Figueroa Jr. and Michel Soro into the mix.

Of course, the fight that makes the most sense from an all-British point of view is Brook vs. Amir Khan.

Both are going to need time to heal—Khan had surgery on his right hand after Alvarez knocked him out in May—after failing to pull off miracles against bigger men.

However, per Daniel Matthews of MailOnline, Khan sees his future at welterweight. His compatriot could be tempted for one last outing at the limit if it secured the domestic fight he's chased for several years.

We can only hope—just don't hold your breath.

At least a first career defeat hasn't extinguished the fire within Brook. He told the Press Association (h/t the Guardian): "I’m looking forward to getting straight back in the top boys. I’ve had a taste of this magnitude of fight and I want this again. I’ll be back and I’ll be twice as strong and twice as fast."

The 30-year-old can consider all his options during his post-op recovery.

Brook can also soak up the praise for his performance against Golovkin. Take a look at some of the notable names who posted positive comments on Twitter in the aftermath:

Brook was good. Really good. But it's going to take someone extra special to dethrone the great Golovkin.