Jamie Moore on Gennady Golovkin v Kell Brook, Canelo v Liam Smith and more

A surprising effort from Kell Brook, Liam Smith's chances, intimidating atmospheres and dream bouts... here's Jamie Moore.

How do you assess Golovkin v Brook?

Golovkin started slowly even though he caught Kell with the first real onslaught he threw. It seemed to wake Kell up a bit. Golovkin has never been the quickest out of the blocks so that didn't surprise me. I thought Kell would have a little bit of success early on.

The way the fight went was pretty much as I expected except Kell did much better than I anticipated. I don't think that's a slight on Golovkin. I always knew Brook was a good fighter but he's gone up in my estimations. He can take a shot much better than I thought he would do and I think he punches a bit harder than I gave him credit for as well. I wouldn't say he hurt Golovkin but he definitely stopped him in his tracks a couple of times. I was impressed by Brook and Matt Macklin hit the nail on the head when he said people would be talking about him rather than Golovkin because they were surprised he had as much success as he did.

Do you expect that atmosphere to be trumped by Canelo v Smith this weekend?

No, I don't think so. I don't think anybody does it quite like the Brits. Also, I think that stadium in Arlington is so large that it's hard to create a similar sort of atmosphere to the one we experienced at The O2 over the weekend.

The Mexicans are very passionate and I'm sure they'll get behind Canelo in that sense the way they always do but I don't think Smith will be up against it atmosphere-wise as much as Golovkin was in London. That was some reception that Brook got and everyone was trying to get behind him to give him as much of a boost as possible knowing the size of the task in hand. Liam Smith will also have his own support out there and there'll be a few at ringside. You can always pick out certain voices when you're boxing. He seems very strong-minded and seems like he's up for it.

Was Martin J Ward the standout performer on the undercard?

Good fighters, even if they've not shown their true potential, can step up a level. They can up their game and sometimes it's just down to motivation when you've not been performing. Obviously he's had fights where people have questioned his ability but fighting for the British title it's one of those stepping stones that makes you or breaks you. 

I was very impressed with him. Townend's style was certainly suited to him and that obviously played into his hands but you can't fault the job he did. He boxed out of his skin and he's an exciting new champion to add to a stable that's already buzzing.

What do you make of David Price calling Anthony Joshua 'just a British champion'?

I think Price is looking for a way to persuade Joshua to face him. We did question the credentials of Charles Martin, who Joshua won the title from. Perhaps he wasn't legitimately at world level and just because Joshua blasted him out early it doesn't really tell us what sort of level he's at. I'd certainly say he's above and beyond British level but it's very difficult to tell exactly what level Joshua's at.

Price is probably trying to put himself in a position to get the fight and he's questioning Joshua's legitimacy at world level. It's a back-handed compliment in a way. It's funny that Price hasn't boxed at that level and when he has stepped up - even though both guys failed drug tests and the wins shouldn't be validated, he lost so he's never been up there and got a win either. I'd like to see Joshua face Price, personally.

If you could make one fight in the world right now, which one would it be?

One of the ones I'd have considered is already happening next weekend - Anthony Crolla v Jorge Linares. I think style-wise that will make for a great fight and it's one I can't wait to see.

I'd like to see Tyson Fury v Joshua. If that doesn't happen soon then it's a crying shame. Fury has to get past Wladimir Klitschko first but I believe it'll be the same sort of fight as last time and Fury will frustrate Klitschko. Obviously everyone wants to see Golovkin v Canelo. Canelo has to get past Liam Smith first and that's not a foregone conclusion.

I've got to go with Brook against Khan at super-welterweight, though. Brook should be boxing there because he looked strong and healthy at middleweight. I think that'd be a fantastic fight and a great occasion for British boxing. Fury v Joshua is a close second.