Boxing: Gennady Golovkin to Fight Kell Brook on Sept. 10

In a shocking turn of events, unbeaten knockout artist Gennady Golovkin will defend his IBF, WBA and WBC middleweight world titles on Sep. 10 against Kell Brook at the O2 in London, England. HBO World Championship Boxing will televise the bout in the U.S. while Sky Sports Box Office will do the same in the U.K.

Matchroom Boxing and K2 Promotions announced the fight Friday afternoon.

Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) has scored an amazing 21 consecutive knockouts, most coming against solid opposition. The Kazakhstan native captured his first world middleweight belt when he flattened Nilson Julio Tapia in the third back in 2010. Since then he added several more titles to his resume and knocked out such foes as Grzegorz Proksa, Matthew Macklin, Martin Murray and David Lemieux. “GGG” had been clamoring for a mega fight with Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, but that duel reportedly won’t occur until late 2017 at the earliest.

“I’m very excited to be fighting in front of the great British boxing fans and promise another ‘Big Drama Show’ against Kell Brook,” Golovkin said in a brief statement.

Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) is the current IBF welterweight champion, a title he won by edging Shawn Porter via decision in a terrific battle almost two years ago. He’s defended his crown thrice since then but has been unable to land the sort of super fight he’s been demanding since becoming champion. The Englishman jumped at the chance to take on an elite-level pugilist on a massive stage.

“This is the fight and the moment I have been waiting for for some time,” said Brook, who will retain his 147-pound title regardless of the outcome with Golovkin. “We’ve tried and tried to lure the best to come and fight me and now we’ve got the best of the best -- the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world is coming to the UK.

“When this fight got offered to me I accepted within minutes and I can’t wait,” Brook added. “Everyone knows I’m a huge welterweight and I know I will carry my speed and accuracy and even more power through the weights. This is the ultimate fight, one of the biggest international fights the country has seen in many years -- you have seen some huge names run from GGG but I’m running to him. I’m a special fighter and I will show the world on September 10.”

No details in terms of ticket sales, prices, additional fights and live telecast times have been revealed as of press time.