Hearn: Brook still one of the best, gave Golovkin a hell of a fight

Brook, 30, was halted in the fifth round of a barnstorming battle in front of 18,000 or so at the O2 Arena in London as trainer Dominic Ingle stepped in to save the former welterweight world champion for future fights.

A move up to super-welterweight has already been mentioned for ‘The Special One’ who gave a good account of himself for four rounds but just couldn’t continue after suffering a broken orbital bone.

“Kell stepped up and fought the best, he was ahead on (one of) the scorecards but at the end of the day his eye socket has gone,” said Hearn after the fight.

“He would fight all night but – I know the fans want to see the fight go on as long as possible – but you can’t be fighting a guy like Golovkin when you can’t focus on the guy.

“Kell deserves a huge amount of respect and I believe he is still one of the best fighters in the world. For five rounds he’s given Golovkin a hell of a fight.”

For Golovkin, there’s still the small matter of getting tougher challengers to agree to a fight. The 34 year-old is willing to meet Canelo Alvarez or Billy Joe Saunders at 160 pounds or move up to 168 to challenge any of the champions up there.

A trip back to the UK, another bout in the US or even a return to Monte Carlo are all possibilities for ‘GGG’ who should be back in the ring by December this year, or at the very latest in the first two months of 2017.