Boxing fans, it seems, thrive on hating themselves. They waited years for Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao, they’re about to wait the exact same amount of time to see Canelo Alvarez fight Gennady Golovkin.
They’re realizing that Amir Khan will never fight Kell Brook, that Danny Garcia will never again face a reputable Welterweight and that Deontay Wilder will put off ever having to risk his title if he can help it. It begs the question: why do they stick around?
Why do boxing fans continue to come back to a sport whose higher-ups have such great contempt for them?
When they wanted Mayweather-Pacquiao, they got Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey and Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz. They threatened to stop watching the sport altogether in protest so that when the promoters put together fights they would be the ones that the fans wanted.
They are now so desperately clamoring for Canelo vs. GGG and what do they get this year instead? Canelo vs. Khan, Canelo vs. Liam Smith, and now:
GGG vs. Brook.
It’s official. I will be facing off against @SpecialKBrook Sept. 10 in #London. Ready for my first #UK fight. pic.twitter.com/0bewf2QqS2
— Gennady Golovkin (@GGGBoxing) July 8, 2016
It’s as though the money men in boxing find out what the customers want, but only through an extended game of telephone. At the start of the chain, someone whispers “Give us Canelo vs. GGG and Khan vs. Brook,” but by the end the names are all mixed up. The inmates are running the asylum, and it’s not going to get any better.
Just like Canelo vs. Khan, we already know the outcome of this fight before it happens. Brook might get in a few good shots while Golovkin is breaking him down from the outside. When Golovkin knows his man has nothing left in him, he’ll rip up his body and make Brook’s body a vessel for liver soup.
That said, it appears from early reports that this fight is a bit different in comparison to how Canelo vs. Khan was put together. While that fight was kept tightly under wraps while it was in talks, this fight seems to have been made and signed in about 24 hours.
According to reporter Lance Pugmire, Chris Eubank Jr., the fighter GGG’s people wanted to face, got cold feet when it came time to sign. Promoter Eddie Hearn then offered the same contract to Brook who signed almost immediately.
The only upside, as some have pointed out, is that in a year mired by poorly matched pay-per-view fights, this one will be an HBO bout, no massive costs attached.
But the problem isn’t how people will watch this fight, it’s that this is not a good fight for either guy.
Golovkin gains nothing, Brook loses some brain cells and risks his well being. This is a dangerous sport. I’ve said it before. Weight classes matter.
In real life, David doesn’t beat Goliath. Let’s stop pretending Brook has a chance, and start demanding safer matchups for fighters’ health.
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