Unified middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin is more than the WBA/IBO/WBA/WBC champion. He’s also the most feared boxer on the planet. Armed with the most potent fists in the sport, “GGG” has had trouble finding credible opponents willing to step into the ring with him. But undefeated welterweight champion Kell Brook is stepping up to the task in hopes of cracking the invincible aura that Golovkin has crafted.
Bet on boxing odds at BookMaker.eu
MAIN EVENT
Kell Brook +500
Gennady Golovkin -800
CO-MAIN EVENT
Roman Gonzalez -1100
Carlos Cuadras +650
Please note, the boxing odds at BookMaker Sportsbook are updated daily. The odds may have changed since this article was written.
ODDS ANALYSIS
As expected, Golovkin is a massive favorite against at -800. Brook, who usually fights at a lighter weight class, is currently a 5-1 underdog. To be fair, oddsmakers are giving Brook a far better shot than his last opponent, Dominic Wade, who came into their April bout at +4900. Brook is a legit top welterweight, but how his skills and power translate to the middleweight division remains a big question.
Co-main event fighter Roman Gonzalez is an even bigger favorite than Golovkin, at -1100 for his matchup against Carlos Cuadras. “Chocolatito” is widely considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and will attempt to net a belt in a fourth weight class.
FIGHT PREVIEW
Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) is coming off a second-round knockout win over Dominic Wade, which marked his 16th consecutive title defense. The native of Kazakhstan is closing in on Bernard Hopkin’s divisional record of 20 straight title defenses.
Even more impressive is the fact that GG has scored 22 knockouts in a row -- and currently owns the best knockout ratio (.914) in middleweight history. He’s been so good that he hasn’t heard a final bell since going to an eight-round decision in 2008.
Aside from his size advantage, Golovkin is arguably the more talented boxer. While GGG has been cleaning out his division, Brook has been padding his resume with low to midlevel opponents like Frankie Gavin, Matthew Hatton, Luis Galarza, Kevin Bizier, Jo Jo Dan and Michael Jennings. Those are names that only hardcore fans would know, and even then I’d be surprised if they recognized all of them.
For what it’s worth, Brook has made it clear that he’s putting on muscle in his efforts to fight at 160 pounds. Recent training videos do appear to show a bulked up Brook, but let’s hope for his sake that he’s not seriously considering trying to trade shots with Golovkin -- it’d be a very short night and I like to get my pay-per-view money’s worth.
Although there is plenty of excitement around this fight in the U.K., the buzz hasn’t really caught on stateside. Perhaps that will change if GGG can ever get somebody like Canelo Alvarez, Daniel Jacobs, Billy Joe Saunders or Andre Ward to step up to the plate.
In the co-main event, No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez will attemp to claim for a belt in his fourth weight class when he meets Carlos Cuadras. The 29-year old Gonzalez (45-0, 38 KOs) has struggled to make the flyweight limit of 112 pounds in recent fights, and the fight against Cuadras (35-0-1, 27 KOs) marks a championship-level litmus test of how Gonzalez can fare in a bigger weight class.
THE SMART PLAYS
Golovkin to win is a safe play, but an expensive one. Instead, make sure to check out our prop bets and see what the odds are for the champ to win by KO. It will likely still be expensive, but it will provide a much better payout than GGG to win straight up.
HOW TO BET
With BookMaker Sportsbook, you can bet on boxing all year, from regional cards to pay-per-view events. Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook. You can even wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Golovkin vs. Brook takes place on Saturday, September 10, 2016 at the O2 Arena in London, England. The card will be televised on HBO starting 10 p.m. p.m. ET.
