Sunday 21 May 2017 18:15, UK
Gennady Golovkin became the first man to defeat Kell Brook, so we asked his trainer Abel Sanchez to reveal how he plotted the downfall of 'The Special One.'
Brook's unbeaten record was ended by Golovkin last September as he suffered a brave stoppage defeat after stepping up two divisions to challenge the fearsome middleweight king.
The Sheffield man returns to welterweight to defend his IBF title against mandatory challenger Spence Jr this Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, and GGG's trainer Sanchez has assessed Brook's strengths and weaknesses.
I think Kell has a great team and we needed to be 100 per cent prepared.
We had to have sparring with a little more speed, a little less size than we are accustomed to. Kell was an undefeated welterweight champion with a great record before that.
I think Kell has a great team and we needed to be 100 per cent prepared.
We knew he was going to be fast. We knew it was going to be a difficult first three or four rounds, because of his speed.
I found out first hand about his determination when he fought Carson Jones. I thought that Kell dug deep. His determination and his grit were important to that fight. That is one of his strengths, other than obviously his boxing skills.
He sets up the shots real well. He doesn't go crazy with his combinations. He's a one-two, one-two-three kind of fighter. We needed to make sure that he didn't get started.
If Kell is able to get off fast, if Kell is able to dictate, he's a dangerous guy.
You have to be first. In the gym, we were working on being first with him, not necessarily with a punch, but with a step or a feint, so that Kell couldn't get his rhythm going.
After Gennady hurt him [in the first round], Gennady knew he could hurt him again, so he kind of moved away from our plan. We weren't doing the things that eventually he did in the fourth and fifth.
If you listen to the commentary in the corner, I'm telling him not to look for that shot again. I'm asking if he can box him and put [together] combinations because he did get away from it once he hurt him.
That's Gennady, he likes to make sure the fans are entertained and he was looking for a dramatic knockout.
But that's Gennady, he likes to make sure the fans are entertained and he was looking for a dramatic knockout.
He's a little brave at times. He, like all fighters, is a warrior and he got away from what his strengths are. His strengths are to throw triple combinations and make sure he kept Golovkin at bay. Golovkin being the bigger guy was a little difficult for him.
He wasn't going to run, he was going to stand there and fight and sometimes when you have skills like that, it's not the best option.
I don't think [trainer] Dominic [Ingle] had in mind for him to sit there and trade with Gennady. But once he landed a couple of shots in the second round, he felt that he could.
The biggest problem that he had in the fight was that he wanted to stand there. He wasn't going to run, he was going to stand there and fight and sometimes when you have skills like that, it's not the best option until it's time to.
I think the difference in power was the difference. Kell Brook was very strong at 160[lbs], maybe his punching power wasn't 147[lbs] but he was very strong, very solid.
But I think once Golovkin started to wear him down in the fourth and fifth, it was just the strength and power of Golovkin that done for Kell.
Before the fight, he kept talking and maybe we all didn't get this, but he kept saying he wanted to make it a street fight and then after he hurt him in the beginning, that's exactly what he did.
He made it an ugly fight that was not really what he does in the ring. He likes to make sure that people enjoy his fights.
Watch Brook vs Spence Jr, from Bramall Lane, Sheffield, May 27, live on Sky Sports Box Office. You can book the event online here.
