Kell Brook v Gennady Golovkin: Unbeaten Sheffield welterweight cannot stop thinking about ways to snooker middleweight king
KELL BROOK cannot stop thinking about how to snooker Gennady Golovkin.
The unbeaten Sheffield welterweight is jumping up two divisions to challenge for the middleweight king’s IBF, WBA and WBC titles at London’s O2 Arena on September 10.
Brook, 30, has vowed to shock the world by inflicting Golovkin’s first defeat, which would install him as boxing’s pound-for-pound king.
But plotting to end the 34-year-old Kazakhstani’s dominance is playing havoc with his potting skills.
Brook said: “The fight is on my mind first thing in the morning and last thing at night — it’s a huge fight.
“I know I’m up against it and I wouldn’t be normal if I wasn’t thinking about it.
“I want to make history and there’s a lot on this fight.
“Playing snooker does help me relax, actually.
“I go in and have a little knockabout but even then my game is not too good because I’m still thinking about the fight.
“I’m obsessed with getting the win. I want to make sure I do everything I can to win, so even when I’m potting a red I’m thinking tactics and visualising the fight.
Related Stories
“I’m thinking about the bell ringing, different scenarios and what I’d do to react.”
Brook will have his hands full against a fearsome fighter boasting 32 knockouts from 35 wins. But his own record is also impressive, with 25 stoppages in 36 victories.
Kell Brook last fought in March when he beat Kevin Bizier
And he is confident of pulling off one of the sport’s biggest upsets thanks to the extra power fighting at 160lb will give him.
Brook, the IBF world welterweight champ, said: “You do have to do something outrageous to stand out.
“Beating Golovkin makes me the man in boxing — pound-for-pound best in the world. Being pound-for-pound is everything, isn’t it?
“This is my sport, I love it and I’ve wanted to be the best since I was a little kid.
“Imagine beating him and taking those belts to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world — it’s unbelievable.
“It isn’t just a world champion fighting a world champion, it’s the biggest fight in boxing.
“You’ve got two unbeaten fighters with a lot of knockouts between them going up against each other. This is what boxing is about.”