THE Gennady Golovkin vs Kell Brook fight on Saturday (September 10) at the O2 will not be for the WBA middleweight title Golovkin holds. However his WBC and IBF middleweight crowns will be on offer to Brook, who is stepping up two weight classes to challenge the feared Kazakh. Kell, a world champion at 147lbs, has never competed middleweight before.
“The Championships Committee and the Presidency have not agreed to sanction this bout as a title fight because Brook has never fought as a middleweight,” WBA president Gilberto Mendoza said. “The intent of the organization is to try to protect the integrity and health of the fighters.”
“We do not oppose the fight, per se,” he added. “But the rules of the organization stipulate that Golovkin and/or his representatives must request special permission in advance to fight Brook. Under the circumstances, if Golovkin were to lose to Kell Brook, the title would become vacant and would not end up in the hands of the British pugilist.”
