Golovkin's Promoter Expects A lot of UK Support at O2 Arena

By Radio Rahim

WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO middleweight world champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (35-0, 32KOs) is expected to have a lot of support at O2 Arena in London, according to his promoter Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions.

Golovkin will be making his UK ring debut on September 10th, when he defends his titles against IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook.

Brook, who competes at 147-pounds, will moved up by two weight division [thirteen pounds] to challenge Golovkin for his world titles.

Over the last two years, Golovkin has increased his following by the thousands in New York and Los Angeles.  Golovkin has sold out venues on both coasts in the United States.

The fight with Brook sold out almost as quickly as the tickets went on sale. Brook has a loyal following, especially among the boxing fans in Sheffield and many of them are expected to be present in the venue that night.

Loeffler cautions that experts and fans should not overlook Golovkin's popularity level with the UK fans. He anticipates a sizable force of Golovkin fans to be present in the venue - similar to the large force that mobbed the StubHub Center in 2014 for Golovkin's knockout of Marco Antonio Rubio. While the venue was mostly packed with Mexican fight fans, they were largely rooting against the Mexican fighter, Rubio.

"Kell Brook is a very popular champion in the UK. Naturally he's got a lot of local support there, but I think you'll see a lot of support for Gennady. It's just like when he fought Rubio at the StubHub, and most of the fans in the arena were Hispanic fans. You saw a lot of fans chanting 'Triple G' and we expect something similar in London," Loeffler told BoxingScene.com.

"Just the atmosphere, both undefeated champions getting in the ring, it's going to be a great atmosphere over there."