By Gav Duthie: There are some fighters who are so revered that they can have their opponent beaten before they even step in the ring. FEAR can be a boxers greatest weapon but it can also be a major obstacle. Some of our major talents today like Sergey Kovalev and Gennady Golovkin are struggling to get the fights they deserve as a result.
Fear
The obvious example is Mike Tyson. When all the promoters, managers and ring girls stepped out of the ring you are faced with an opponent who has nothing on his mind but destroying you. Mike Tyson was powerful but it was his stare, the thought that he could kill you, destroy you in the ring. Michael Spinks is considered one of the top 3 light heavyweights of all time alongside Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore but the day he stepped into the ring with Iron Mike you could tell he didn’t want to be there. It takes an extremely brave man to beat someone like this and if you can eliminate the fear its half the battle.
Real men get over the fear of the opponents and they face them head on. This is why I am impressed with Bernard Hopkins for wanting to fight Kovalev and Solimon for calling out Golovkin. At the end of the day they are only human and both highly beatable opponents.
Tyson v Holyfield
Evander Holyfield is one of the coolest customers in boxing history. He could be in the opposite corner from a fire breathing dragon and still walk in with a smile. In his autobiography he talks about the weigh in with Iron Mike before the first fight. After they did the usual stare down Holyfield reflected that Tyson couldn’t stop staring at Evander’s biceps. He said after that I knew I had him beat. Psychologically Tyson was used to being the smaller than his opponent but being outmuscled was different. Nothing Tyson could do would intimidate Holyfield so when it came down to boxing there was only one winner.
Liston v Clay
Mohammed Ali has admitted since the first fight that he was terrified of Liston but he dare not show it. He acted like an absolute madman, citing poetry of Liston’s demise, screaming in his face. He knew he had to get over the fear before he could beat this man. Liston wasn’t just a knockout artist, he had been arrested over 100 times, he carried a gun, he was linked to the mafia. When Floyd Patterson fought him he entered the venue with a bag consisting of a big hat, glasses and beard ready for when he lost so he could escape unnoticed. You cannot win a fight if you are not mentally prepared with the realisation that your opponent is just a man. In the end Ali turned the fear on Liston and he didn’t know how to react.
Missing Out
There was an interesting article the other day here about Aaron Pryor and how he missed out on two fights with Sugar Ray Leonard. You can catch a pretty decent film on youtube of Pryor destroying Tommy Hearns as an amateur. Pryor had other problems with drugs that lead to his unfulfilled potential but the fact that he never fought any of the fab 4 is a shame for boxing. Those guys were clearly scared to fight him. Allegedly the raging bull Jake LaMotta had to stage a fake knockout defeat before he could get a title shot as nobody would fight him with the exception of Sugar Ray Robinson of course. This is a concern for dangerous fighters like Golovkin. He is no spring chicken at 32 years of age and needs a big fight within the next year.
Risk v Reward
Its not just the power punchers that get avoided. Look at the likes of Andre Ward and Guillermo Rigondauex not massive punchers but nobody wants to fight them. It is a different kind of fear fighting these guys. This is the fear of looking stupid. The idea that the more skillfull fighter will embarrass you so you avoid them. The problem for Ward and Rigondauex is that they don’t generate enough money to make it worth their while. Fighters who face Floyd Mayweather know they could get embarrassed but at least they will be paid well.
With regards to Kovalev and Golovkin they seem to have both. They can knock you out with either hand but they are also seemingly great boxers. This makes the idea of fighting them even less appealing.
Kovalev
You can make any excuse that you want for Adonis Stevenson switching from HBO to Showtime but it looks pretty much like he was avoiding Kovalev. After another 2nd round easy knockout win for Kovalev against Caparello he once again showed his class. Bernard Hopkins gave him the promotional stare down after the fight and thankfully this fight looks on for November. One of the many reasons Hopkins is considered one of he best fighters of his generation is his willingness to take on anybody. He took on a similar challenge with Felix Trinidad many years ago and he has never been phased by power.
Golovkin
Conversely GGG is being avoided like the plague by anyone who has a legacy to protect. Middleweight champion Sam Soliman is the only one to express any real desire to fight him. Going back to risk v reward Solimon is a 40 year old fighter who has lost 11 times and is looking for a payday so its no wonder Golovkin is an attractive option to him. Ward has been quiet but nothing new there, Froch has bluntly expressed no desire to fight him and both Canelo and Cotto would prefer to face each other. Andre Dirrell has mentioned GGG but he has a big PR situation just now and needs to get his name back out there and rebuild o is likely to call out anyone.
I think both Golovkin and Kovalev are great champions but are also very beatable. Hopkins is the first to show any ambition but he is perhaps to old to win this one. I’m looking for anyone from Ward, Froch, Dirrell, Abraham, Canelo or Cotto to man up and do the same to fight Golovkin.
Comments are closed.