Bellew Warns Golovkin: Brook Will Be a Wrecking Machine at 160!

By Edward Chaykovsky

WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew expects IBF welterweight king Kell Brook (36-0, 25KOs) to be a lot stronger when he moves up in weight by thirteen pounds to challenge Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (35-0, 32KOs) for the IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight world titles.

The matchup was finalized on Friday for September 10th at the O2 Arena in London.

The fight caught everyone by surprise, because Brook was in talks to face WBO champion Jessie Vargas and Golovkin was negotiating a fight with Chris Eubank Jr. Both of those discussions fell apart and created the fall encounter.

Bellew is no stranger at moving up. He made a 25-pound jump when he moved up from light heavyweight to cruiserweight, and is now world champion at the weight.

He says Brook should be respected in the same manner as Amir Khan, who moved up by eight pounds in May to challenge Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez for the WBC middleweight title at a catch-weight of 155-pounds. Khan suffered a vicious knockout defeat in the sixth round.

"Kell Brook at [160-pounds] will be an absolute wrecking machine," Bellew told BBC. "A lot of people are scared of Golovkin's power but Brook's stepped up and should only be commended.

"Do not write him off. These are two men who can land big punches and it can end at any time but Kell Brook is a serious athlete and deserves massive credit for taking this fight."

"Everyone showed respect to Khan when he stepped up to face Canelo. Brook should receive the same recognition for taking on the most feared middleweight anyone has seen since Marvin Hagler."