Kell Brook’s bid to take Gennady Golovkin’s middleweight crown was undoubtedly an ambitious one.
The 30-year-old had jumped two weight divisions to face the Kazakh fighter but, despite a brave performance in London’s O2 Arena, he didn’t make it beyond the fifth round.
Brook’s corner decided they’d seen enough as Golovkin started to dominate the fight, with Dominic Ingle opting to throw in the towel as the Sheffield fighter struggled to defend himself.
The opening rounds were more competitive than many predicted, with Brook arguably taking at least one of the first four frames and breaching the Kazakh’s defences on a number of occasions.
But it was in the fifth that it appeared as if a switch flicked in the mind of Golovkin.
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The Kazakh fighter began pouring damage on to an already visibly hurt Brook, who began backing up in an attempt to glean some respite from the onslaught.
But respite is seldom offered by GGG, who continued storming forward with a barrage of thudding hooks.
Brook showed heart early on but once it started to go downhill in the fifth, there was no way he was going to escape the plummet.
Golovkin, as predicted, retained his title and status as one of the most terrifying men on the planet.
That’s 36 fights, 36 wins and, remarkably, 33 knockouts.
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