Golovkin’s trainer: Macklin isn’t as tough a fight for us as Proksa

By Boxing News - 06/24/2013 - Comments

354By Scott Gilfoid: Abel Sanchez, the trainer for WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (26-0, 23 KO’s), thinks Golovkin’s fight against the hard hitting southpaw Grzegorz Proksa last September was a harder fight for Golovkin than this Saturday’s title defense Matthew Macklin (29-4, 20 KO’s) at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort, in Mashantucket, Connecticut, USA.

Sanchez thinks Macklin is tough, but he thinks Proksa was more difficult because of his southpaw stance and the variety of skills he brought to the table in that fight.

Sanchez said to Steve Kim at Maxboxing.com “I don’t think it’s the toughest fight that we’ve had…Proksa was tougher…the style, left hander, a mover.”

I have to agree with Sanchez, except that he left out the part about Proksa’s big time power, which I rate as being better than Macklin’s, and the different angles that Proksa was throwing his punches. It wasn’t just his southpaw stance that caused his punches to be tougher to track; it was because of the angles that Proksa threw his shots in against Golovkin.

Proksa’s a tough opponent for anyone to fight, and his power makes him dangerous.

Macklin is a more predictable fighter with his punches, and his orthodox stance is going to make it easier for Golovkin. Macklin’s power isn’t as good as Proksa, so that’s another area where Golovkin doesn’t have to worry much.

Saturday’s fight between Golovkin and Macklin will be televised by HBO, so it’s going to be a great opportunity for Golovkin to get some good publicity with the fight being televised in the United States. Golovkin is going to need to make sure that he puts the lights out on Macklin as quick as possible because you don’t want the guy hanging around spoiling like he was last year in his 11th round TKO loss to Sergio Martinez.

That fight should have been over in the first 3 rounds had Macklin stood and traded with Martinez, but instead he used movement and stayed on the outside to survive until the 11th. Golovkin needs to expect that Macklin will be fighting in a similar manner on Saturday, and he’s probably going to have to chase the British fighter around the ring in order to knock him out.



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