I understand Golovkin/Chavez fight

By Boxing News - 03/30/2014 - Comments

chavez0By Robert “Big Moe” Elmore: When the Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and Julio Cesar Chavez JR. fight was first mentioned I was a little upset that it wasn’t Andre Ward, but I see the potential direction this could go. I’m not the biggest fan of either GGG or Chavez, but this fight makes sense; financially and name wise. The ONLY gripe I had with GGG was Abel Sanchez, his trainer. He stated, before the Curtis Stevens bout, that GGG was willing to fight anyone between 154-175.

When WBA super middleweight champ Andre Ward’s name came up, team GGG said they wanted to exhaust all options at 160 before moving up. This further muddied the waters. I too, being a Ward fan, let the emotional bug bite me. But stepping back and looking at the entire situation, and seeing what’s going on now, I can better assess the situation. Let’s deal with Abel Sanchez first. Sanchez’s comments certainly sparked controversy. Sanchez simply put on his promotional hat and Tom Loeffler later backed Sanchez’s comments.

Sanchez knew his comments would turn heads and bring more attention to GGG and it worked. However, I took them as a grain of salt. This is why I don’t ever by into that “I fight for the fans” or “my country” stuff. Those things maybe a part of a fighters’s motivation, but you can rest assure money will always be the determining factor. For example, when Erislandry Lara called for a fight with GGG, Tom Loeffler, simply asked among his comments “Who watches Lara”? Only the hard core boxing fans knows Lara so in Loeffler’s eyes that fight wouldn’t make sense financially nor would it benefit them for where they are trying to go.

A fight with Chavez will. Chavez has a name and an audience that will bring GGG the attention he needs to set up a bout with Andre Ward. The fight needed time to simmer. As far as I am concerned all GGG’s options have long been exhausted at 160. None of the other champions; especially Sergio Martinez, will not give him a challenge. Even if Sergio beats Miguel Cotto in June, I still don’t believe he will give GGG a shot.

As for the fight itself, Chavez has no chance. He is too undisciplined OUTSIDE the ring. There is always a disturbance going on in his camp. His weight has always been an issue. There is no reason why he can’t maintain a decent weight in between fights and on fight night. Chavez has been known to be a cruiserweight once he rehydrates. And it’s a real shame because I believe Chavez could be a very good fighter if he buckles down.

His resume doesn’t really help either. I will hold my prediction to the end of this article to make this point. Let’s say GGG does win and he decides to stay at 68. I can very well see him going after Carl Froch which would make even more sense. Froch lost to Ward. And if GGG fights and stops him, then Ward fight becomes even bigger. The angle will be “Ward couldn’t stop him and GGG did”. The fans will gravitate more to GGG because fans love knockout fighters. GGG could even be doing a test run with the Chavez fight to see how he does with the weight and how his power holds up at 68.

He could go back down to see if a fight with Sergio can materialize. And I’m going to make this bold prediction. If GGG stays at 68, Team Martinez will come out the woodwork and began to take cheap shots at GGG. They will also want to fight him. If GGG comes back down, team Martinez will look for another cash out fight. As for my prediction for the fight GGG dominates him. I’m not looking for the KO unless he lands that perfect shot.



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