For those first four rounds, was an unexpectedly intriguing fight – before an eye injury, and Golovkin’s fearsome power, proved too much for Brook. He is sensible to leave middleweight boxing behind, but has improved his standing even in losing his undefeated record. Golovkin, meanwhile, enjoyed a challenge against a slippery challenger, but remains undefeated, and still the middleweight champion of the world. Thanks for joining me – a full report and more reaction will follow. Goodnight.
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Dominic Ingle is invited to offer his opinion, but can hardly speak, after spending five rounds screaming blue murder at his man. Promoter Eddie Hearn suggests that Brook was ahead on the scorecards after four rounds – it was a close contest, but I’m not convinced.
Kell Brook speaks, and confirms he suffered a broken right eye socket early in the fight:
“He obviously can punch, but I expected bigger punches. He broke my eye socket in the second round. I was seeing three or four of him… it’s frustrating, but it was hard to carry on.”
On whether he got to Golovkin: “Believe me, I hurt him… I saw his legs start to buckle. I was starting to settle in… I would fight him again. We knew the fifth and sixth would be really tough, but we were going to start boxing with him after”
On what he’ll do next: “Get back to the drawing board… I think I’d be more suited at light middleweight. I’d love to fight Canelo (Alvarez) or Liam Smith. I’ve gone up two weights, fighting a man everyone is running away from.”
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The champion speaks:
“Kell is a huge fighter, a very good fighter … sorry, but he’s not a middleweight. I respect him, he is good… but not so strong.”
He’s asked if Brook hurt him: “No, he just touched. So many punches, but I don’t feel them. I respect Kell, he’s a warrior, and his corner, for his career, for his family, was correct. It was game over! I want a unification fight – I want to fight Billie Joe Saunders. He has the WBO belt.”
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There are jeers of frustration at that conclusion – but that round was so one-sided, it was a matter of time. Ingle also clearly pointed to his eye, suggesting that Brook may have a serious injury from that early blow. Golovkin was just too strong, but Brook will have won new admirers with his efforts before he was overpowered.
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Gennady Golovkin stops Kell Brook in round five!
Golovkin retains his middleweight title, forcing Brook’s trainer to step in after an explosive fifth round that left his opponent reeling.
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Round five: Golovkin comes flying out of the traps, pushing Brook on the ropes and raining down blows. Brook sidesteps and offers a crowd-pleasing shrug – but he’s taken punishment in that first minute, still troubled by that right eye... he’s stuck on the ropes now – and Dominic Ingle is about to throw in the towel!
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Round four: Brook connects with a right-hand jab, earning a nod of respect from Golovkin. Brook does have swelling around his right eye, from one of those punishing blows in the last round. There’s clear frustration from the champion in a less explosive round, swinging for the ribs as Brook sidesteps away. A Brook uppercut is blocked, then a left hook lands – what an impressive start from the challenger...
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“As an amateur, I successfully made the transition FROM middle to welter 30 years ago. Trust me, at this level - it’s all in the mind!” says John Morgan. Brook is certainly competing, against a man who knocks down cruiserweights in sparring.
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Round three: Brook stumbles and goes down to his knees, but it’s purely a loss of balance. When the two fighters go again, Golovkin is the aggressor, letting off steam with a vicious right-hander. The challenger is countering well, landing a right-hand uppercut to send the crowd wild – but is he a touch too bold? Golovkin lands a couple of fierce blows, and fires a left-hander after the bell in frustration. A very tight round, with the champion perhaps landing a few more clean hits...
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Round two: That body blow probably sealed the round for Golovkin, but Brook’s late combinations had the champ thinking again. He’s arguably never fought someone as skilful as Brook – but the threat is always there, launching those golden gloves forward from the back foot. He keeps Brook on the outside – but Brook lands another uppercut, and a right hand! Golovkin is bloodied, and drags a tired left hook. Brook’s round...
Round one: Your predictions range from Golovkin in three, to Golovkin in nine. Nobody backing Brook, and I can’t say I blame you. The champion trying to connect with thunderous punches early, but Brook lands a couple of jabs. Golovkin gets Brook on the ropes, landing a painful body blow. Brook’s struggling to use his feet – but he lands a left hook, then a jab, getting the crowd off their seats!
Cracking first round - Brook badly hurt early but came back strongly and earned a nod of respect with a big uppercut #GGGBrook
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) September 10, 2016
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Seconds out...
In the blue corner, wearing red with gold trim, the challenger – Kell ‘Special K’ Brook. In the red corner, wearing sky blue, the champion – Gennady ‘Triple G’ Golovkin. It’s on!
Nathan Early thinks Triple G will get this done, well, early: “Golovkin inside five rounds - he’s so hot right now!”
Time for the anthems, with ‘God Save the Queen’ followed by Kazakhstan’s anthem, which is an absolute belter. If Brook wasn’t worried before, he will be now.
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Prediction time. Brook will offer Golovkin a different sort of challenge, and has the boxing brain and ability to last deep into the fight. Once Brook tires, or is forced to open up, the champ’s power will surely be too much. Golovkin in eight. Disagree? Let me know: niall.mcveigh@theguardian.com.
Hidden under the hood of his robe, Golovkin makes his way to the ring to the tune of ‘Seven Nation Army’ – probably the first man to do so at the O2 since darts supremo Michael van Gerwen.
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Brook walks out, staring straight ahead, to an almighty roar, and bobs around the ring, looking a little nervous. Time for the champion, who is greeted with pantomime boos. Gennady ‘Triple G’ Golovkin begins his entrance with a montage of his knockout wins, and a blast of DMX. Simple but effective.
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Here comes Kell Brook! Introduced as “Special K, the Special One”, he walks into the arena soundtracked by Kanye West:
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The crowd get a glimpse of Kell Brook, strolling down a corridor beneath the arena. There’s a huge roar for the British fighter. Also spotted in the crowd, to less clamour, is this man:
Our man at ringside is just feet away from a boxing legend – ring announcer Michael Buffer. He’s going to be in action soon – the ring walks are minutes away.
The Buffer pic.twitter.com/BoOfwmEpaJ
— Sachin Nakrani (@SachinNakrani) September 10, 2016
Hall is understandably dispirited, saying “I thought I’d done enough to nick it in the final rounds”, but accepts he didn’t do enough early on. Arch-rival Haskins says Hall did “very, very well” but that he didn’t miss many shots, and did enough before tiring late on. “He’s like a pit bull, and he hits very hard” adds Haskins.
The winner by unanimous decision, and still the IBF bantamweight champion of the world, is Lee Haskins. He won by at least four points on each scorecard – but the crowd don’t like it one bit.
Hall v Haskins goes the distance, with the challenger finishing strongly – but both men celebrate with their corners after the fight. David Haye thinks Haskins has won, others ringside aren’t so sure – it was, as they say, a bout of two halves. Perhaps Hall hasn’t done quite enough after that sluggish start...
Hall has fought back impressively, reeling off the rounds and keeping Haskins on the back foot. The champion may need to land some big shots in the last two rounds to hang onto his title.
Brook has spoken to Sky, and had this to say: “I’m feeling very good, just need to do the business tonight. (I’ve spent today) relaxing, having a laugh… trying to keep as chilled as possible. I’m starting to feel the nerves now, hearing the fans… I’m here, I’m ready to go.”
This has the whiff of an Alan Minter vs Marvin Hagler, sorry, Marvellous Marvin Hagler, about it doesn’t it?” says Gary Naylor. “Maybe the crowd should be allowed to throw beer cans at Triple G during the fight, though I think he’d still win.”
A reminder that Kell Brook, currently getting his hands strapped, has put on 13 pounds to take on Golovkin, jumping two divisions from his usual welterweight. Brook has repeated all week that he feels good at a higher weight, as Sean Ingle reports:
On that subject, Erah Miah has emailed in to suggest that extra weight may affect his speed, thought to be one of the few advantages he has over Golovkin. However good Brook may feel at 160lbs, he hasn’t fought at this weight – it’s a big part of the reason he’s such a big outsider with the bookies.
Five rounds in, and Haskins has been dominant so far, leading to an absolute roasting for Hall from his corner. “You’re just standing there... don’t you want to win the fight?” The challenger responds in the sixth, landing a few more shots, but he has a long way to battle back.
Here’s Golovkin, looking relaxed ahead of the big fight. He’s in new shorts and boots tonight, in the sky blue and gold of his native Kazakhstan.
The Champ! pic.twitter.com/Rd94K1zYv1
— Zhanar Utesheva (@Zhanar_Utesheva) September 10, 2016
Hall is challenging Bristol’s Haskins for his IBF world bantamweight belt – a title that, as my colleague Ben Fisher has pointed out, he won when his opponent, Randy Caballero, failed to make the weight. There’s approximately zero love lost between these two, and they’re come out swinging in the opening round.
There is a galaxy of boxing greats in the house tonight, including David Haye, Carl Froch, Prince Naseem Hamed and Anthony Joshua. They’ve just seen Smith take down his opponent in round six, and now it’s time for Lee Haskins v Stuart Hall...
Tonight's story so far
It’s been a busy night on the undercard already: Conor Benn, son of Nigel, has picked up his fourth professional victory, defeating Joe Ducker by second-round knockout. Later on, Martin Ward stopped Andy Townend in a fight for the British super-featherweight championship.
We’ve just seen Charlie Edwards take on the Philippines’ Johnriel Casimero for the IBF flyweight world title. Edwards was a surprise pick for a world title shot, and ultimately fell short against Casimero, who won by tenth-round knockout.
In the ring right now, it’s Callum ‘Mundo’ Smith v Norbert Nemasepati, before Lee Haskins and Stuart Hall fight for the IBF bantamweight world title. Plenty of beef in that one, and after that, well... it’s the main event.
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The tale of the tape
Kell Brook has claimed he is happier at a higher weight, and tipped the scales at 159.4lbs, compared to Golovkin’s 158.9lbs. The Kakazh has a slight advantage on height (5’10” to 5’9”) and reach (74” to 72”), but is four years older than Brook at 34. Golovkin is the unified middleweight world champion, with a 36-0 record and 26 knockouts. Brook, who will remain the IBF world welterweight champion even in defeat, is challenging for Golovkin’s IBO, WBC and IBF belts; the WBA refused to sanction the fight with Brook climbing two weight divisions. ‘Special K’ has 25 career knockouts, and also has a 36-0 record. Someone’s 0 has got to go.
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Preamble
Whatever the outcome tonight, nobody can accuse Kell Brook of taking the easy option. An undefeated world champion at welterweight, Brook has climbed two divisions to take on Gennady Golovkin, the man that established middleweights scramble to avoid.
It’s been eight years since a boxer even lasted the distance against Golovkin, a fearsome heavy hitter raised on street fights in Kazakhstan, and moulded into the unified, undisputed – some say unbeatable – champion of the world.
Brook faces a formidable opponent, and unfavourable odds, but will vault into boxing’s big leagues if he can somehow pull this off. To paraphrase the great division climber Sugar Ray Robinson, champions believe in themselves when no-one else will. We’re about to find out whether Brook’s reserves of self-belief really run deep enough.
Ring walks are slated for 10pm BST; build-up and undercard updates will follow.
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