By Lyle Fitzsimmons
When a note from Gennady Golovkin’s publicist hit my inbox Friday afternoon with a subject line heralding a September fight with Kell Brook, I was sure I’d seen it wrong.
So when I clicked ahead on the email, I made sure to read it twice.
By the time I’d completed all 863 words the second time, I’d come to a definite conclusion.
I think it’s the most interesting fight of the year. And I’m not alone.
“We’re very excited to have Gennady fight for the first time in the UK,” said Golovkin’s promoter, Tom Loeffler. “We have a great deal of respect for Kell Brook for stepping up and facing Gennady when so many have been reluctant to do so. We’ve tried to come to the UK before for fights with Carl Froch, Billy Jo Saunders and Chris Eubank Jr. but Kell Brook is the first to accept the challenge."
In taking the 147- to 160-pound leap, the 30-year-old is again waking up the echoes of boxing’s all-time great throwbacks, and tracing a lineal path back to the sport’s most recent golden age in the 1980s.
Back then, the concept of a top-flight welterweight making his way up to challenge a kingpin at middleweight wasn’t simply the stuff of promotional hyperbole. In fact, over the course of Marvin Hagler’s seven-year reign at 160, he faced no fewer than three foes who’d made their way up from 147.
Pretty good ones, too, in case you’d forgotten. Guys named Duran, Hearns and Leonard.
Of course, before this goes any further, let’s get a couple things straight.
No one is suggesting Brook has reached that level of “Hands of Stone,” “Hitman” or “Sugar Ray.”
Nor is anyone claiming Golovkin’s reign is within cab-hailing distance of “Marvelous.”
But even though neither guy has remotely cemented a trip to Canastota, they are showing the sort of “take on all comers” mindset that will serve them well as they get closer to Central New York.
Particularly Brook.
Though he could have stayed put and ensured himself a long IBF run against the likes of Konstantin Ponomarev, Jeff Horn and Leonard Bundu, the Sheffield native instead chose to jump 13 pounds to face a guy who’s not heard a final bell since 2008 and squashed two other Englishmen – Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray – in a combined 14 rounds.
“This is the fight and the moment I have been waiting for for some time,” he said. “We've tried and tried to lure the best to come and fight me and now we've got the best of the best – the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world is coming to the UK.”
Brook will stand an inch-and-a-half shorter than Golovkin when they meet at the O2 Arena in addition to giving away five inches in reach, but he insists his sublime skill set will bridge the structural gaps.
“When this fight got offered to me I accepted within minutes and I can't wait,” he said.
“Everyone knows I'm a huge welterweight and I know I will carry my speed and accuracy and even more power through the weights. This is the ultimate fight, one of the biggest international fights the country has seen in many years. You have seen some huge names run from GGG but I'm running to him. I'm a special fighter and I will show the world.”
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This week’s title fight schedule:
SATURDAY
WBA super bantamweight title -- Cardiff, Wales
Guillermo Rigondeaux (champion/No. 1 IWBR) vs. James Dickens (No. 11 WBA/No. 59 IWBR)
Rigondeaux (16-0, 10 KO): First title defense (second reign); Fighting in his sixth country
Dickens (22-1, 7 KO): First title fight; Third fight against undefeated opponent (1-1, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Dickens has beaten precisely three foes coming in with two straight wins. And his last opponent was 14-30-5. Ergo, he’s got no business in the ring with this guy. Rigondeaux in 6
WBC heavyweight title – Birmingham, Alabama
Deontay Wilder (champion/No. 4 IWBR) vs. Chris Arreola (No. 9 WBC/No. 37 IWBR)
Wilder (36-0, 35 KO): Fourth title defense; Eighth fight in Alabama (7-0, 7 KO)
Arreola (36-4-1, 31 KO): Third title fight (0-2); One victory since 2013 (1-1-1, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: This should be a mismatch, but something tells me it won’t be – at least for a round or two. Arreola is a tough guy and may land a home run shot. If he doesn’t, he’ll get beat. Wilder in 7
WBO lightweight title -- Cardiff, Wales
Terry Flanagan (champion/No. 9 IWBR) vs. Mzonke Fana (No. 9 WBO/No. 62 IWBR)
Flanagan (30-0, 12 KO): Third title defense; Sixth scheduled 12-round fight (5-0, 3 KO)
Fana (38-9, 16 KO): Seventh title fight (3-2-1); Two reigns as IBF champ at 130 (one title defense)
Fitzbitz says: Fana is a credible competitor with two world title reigns to his credit, but he’s also 42 years old and fighting in a division where he’s got no significant victories. Not good. Flanagan by decision
Last week’s picks: 1-0 (WIN: Kovalev)
2016 picks record: 50-11 (81.9 percent)
Overall picks record: 782-259 (75.1 percent)
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.