Gennady Golovkin vs Kell Brook report: 'Special K' corner throws in the towel to stop toe-to-toe shoot-out

The Kazakh champion retained his world middleweight crowns despite a valiant effort from the Sheffield-born fighter

Gennady Golovkin celebrates retaining his WBC, IBF and IBO World Middleweight titles after stopping Kell Brook at the O2 (Reuters)

When this fight was announced, it was billed in some quarters as a no-brainer for Kell Brook. A monumental payday, the grandest stage of a formidable career and no belt of his own on the line. He had nothing to lose. Except, perhaps, consciousness.

In the end, he went out on his feet. Gennady Golovkin, perhaps the most feared puncher on the planet and many people's pound-for-pound pick, secured this technical knock-out victory with a barrage of devastating punches, landing blows at will in the fifth round until the towel came in from Dominic Ingle, Brook's trainer.

Ingle had already been waving it helplessly for a good ten seconds when his man's challenge finally ended but the referee, Canada's Marlon Wright, was as engrossed in the bout as the O2 Arena's sell-out crowd. For the previous fourteen minutes, they had witnessed a toe-to-toe shoot-out between a bona fide great and a man who had jumped two weight classes to meet him.

Ultimately, this fight showed the casual observer why combat sports have different divisions, but the early stages surprised the experts. Brook, a reigning world welterweight champion, showed courage in these first five rounds at 160lbs, surviving four more than many expected.

Golovkin, smelling blood, swung aggressively from the first bell, his hands landing with thunderous thuds. One shook Brook while he was up against the ropes in the opening minute and caused the 30-year-old's facial features to momentarily droop.

At that early stage, it looked like it would be a light night’s work for the Kazakh, but Brook gradually got the measure of his opponent's jab. 'Special K' then scored with a few punches of his own and the partisan audience at ringside responded, cheering on each successful upper-cut. Golovkin, whose chin is practically chiselled granite, did not seem to mind them either and playfully nodded in acknowledgement.

The second round was Brook’s best and probably the one he won, if any, on the judges’ scorecards. Another good upper-cut caught Golovkin cold and it was followed by several strong rights followed to leave the champion’s nose bleeding and his arms clinching. Rattled and frustrated, 'GGG' spent the rest of the round attempting to land with his signature brand of devastation, only to find that his range was uncharacteristically off.

Brook's eye socket was damaged early on in the fight (Getty)

Then, in the third, Brook’s gave a concerned glance to his corner. His right eye socket was broken and it was this, he later claimed, that was at the root of his defeat. From there on, he was fighting three Golovkins and, as each had the Kazakh's famously nimble footwork, it was not simply a case of hitting the one in the middle.

Nevertheless, Brook maintained some momentum and, despite suffering more and more punishment, he scored with a huge right. The crowd roared again, hopeful of resurgence. Golovkin nodded again, certain he'd taken the round.

He took the next too, almost unwillingly, for he did not wish to win any more. He wanted it to end. So, as Golovkin went on the front foot, Brook went on the back, stayed at range and fought cautiously. Even the most ardent of his supporters in the arena must have known it was going one way. In the fifth, Golovkin unloaded, pushing for the stoppage, and then Wright belatedly noticed Ingle’s flapping towel.

“I promised a big drama show because Kell is a huge fighter, but sorry, he's not a middleweight,” the champion said, frankly, after the fight. “It's not his weight. I respect him because he's good, but he's not so strong. I didn't feel his power, so many punches and I didn't feel them.”

Sensible comments after a silly match-up. Brook showed heart and left the ring healthy. Realistically, that was all he could have hoped for.