It was a busy day and night of action on HBO Boxing, with three fights taking place from two different parts of the world. In the UK, Gennady Golovkin took on Kell Brook in front of a raucous crowd, with the fight being shown live in the afternoon in the US, and then replayed later on in the evening.
Brook began the bout by giving Golovkin more than he was likely expecting. GGG looked a bit off his best, and in Brook, he was facing a fired up fighter, and likely the fastest hands he’s ever seen in the ring.
But Golovkin was aggressive from the start as well, and his shots started to take their toll on Special K. Soon, he was unloading in bunches and battering him, and in Round 5, Brook’s corner had seen enough. They threw in the towel, although it looked to be a bit premature.
In Los Angeles, Roman Gonzalez moved up to a fourth weight division to take on Carlos Cuadras, himself an unbeaten titleholder and respected fighter. Gonzalez did more to control the bout and landed the harder, more telling blows.
But in Cuadras, he found a fighter who wasn’t going to crumble, and a larger, physically stronger man who could hold up to those shots better. The fight went the distance, with a tired out and battered Chocolatito winning a hard-earned unanimous decision.
Earlier on that card, Yoshihiro Kamegai fought Jesus Soto-Karass in a rematch of their fight of the year candidate. In this one, it was almost all Kamegai, as Soto-Karass looked worn down. He was still game, but didn’t quite have it, and one wonders if that’s the end of the line for him.
