(Photo credit: Sumio Yamada) By Dominic Panaia: As a fighter, WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (32-0, 29 KOs) is special. He possesses raw power that deserves respect. His foot work is good and his work rate is at a high standard.
I watched Golovkin’s fight with Martin Murray last Saturday night, and in my article before the fight, I stated that Murray, whilst a good fighter, lacked power and as a result Golovkin will walk through his punches and sit him down by the fifth round. It turns out that assessment was pretty close as he took a knee twice in round 4th round from some hard body shots something Gennady had been looking for in the early rounds.
Murray was able to continue on despite the knockdowns. Murray showed a lot of heart.
The question with Golovkin is does he lack the finishing capabilities or did he in fact just want us to see an entertaining fight.
This was not an exhibition, it was a boxing match, a professional fight. However, watching Murray go on in the fight was something that bothered me. Yes, Murray has heart so what! Yes, Murray has pride but so what? He was getting beaten and he could not protect himself. His corner should have thrown the towel in earlier. Pride and heart can’t save you from serious brain damage.
Was this really a clinical display for Golovkin or did we see a classy fighter facing a lesser man. I mean, this with all respect to Martin Murray, but let’s not forget that Murray couldn’t beat Felix Sturm, a man that was later dominated by Daniel Geale and Sam Solomon twice. If you were to gauge a top five with Felix Sturm, Daniel Geale, Sam Solomon, Martin Murray and Gennady Golovkin, it would look like this:
1. Gennady Golovkin
2. Daniel Geale
3. Sam Solomon
4. Felix Sturm
5. Martin Murray
We continue to tell ourselves Murray is a tough test and probably Golovkin’s biggest test. To watch the commentary team from HBO make a great deal about the courage and heart of Murray was great to me, although in some ways a little transparent. It seems they only mean to suggest how courageous Murray was fighting this machine Golovkin with all that power he possesses as he is such a great champion. Culd it be Gennady wasn’t so great but rather how vulnerable Murray was as a fighter.
From many the perception may seem that Murray is not getting enough credit or Golovkin for that matter, but it’s not that way at all. It is simply pointing out that Murray is not a top middleweight he is a good fighter with a solid record but far from the top middleweights as you can get. Also, lets not down play Golovkin; he is a great fighter with serious power. However, if Daniel Geale and Murray are the gauge of his abilities in this division, then it only shows the lack of stars in the middleweight ranks with no disrespect to these men.
WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto needs to make his mind up in deciding whether he’s a middleweight or a junior middleweight, as this fight against Golovkin is the only one that makes sense for Cotto. Many fans will point out that former WBC middleweight champion Julio Chavez Jr declined Gennady’s request or a fight last year. Well, I can tell you many fighters probably did this as did many fighters when Austin Trout arrived. It’s what happens in boxing when your name is not good enough to make a good pay day. I can also say forget the past; Chavez Jr wants Gennady now so let’s get it done. Let’s get Cotto-Golovkin done or Andre Ward vs. Golovkin, or someone that actually brings in the pay-per-view buys, because like it or not an average fighter is not selling pay per views; only really accomplished fighters can bring in the pay-per-view buys, because as fans we know they are good and we follow them.
Forget the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight. Mayweather and Pacquiao are where they are today mainly because by the time they were Golovkin’s age, they had faced some of the greatest fighters in this era. Let’s not kid ourselves. Cotto is a couple of years older than Golovkin and has faced some awesome names in the past. There is a huge gap that needs closing before we rate Golovkin in any pound-for-pound list or top fighter ranks. At the age of 33, Golovkin needs big names and he needs them now.
Fans are actually entertaining the idea of Golovkin fighting Mayweather, yet there are some credible fighters in the middleweight division directly above Golovkin that are under 35 years of age. The thoughts of most casual fans is baffling. For instance, Mayweather has fought a some great fighters in the top ten, #1 & 2 ranked or former champions and at least 10 future hall of famers. Mayweather has risen through around 7 divisions and fought 47 fights for 47 wins. Mayweather has registered some great knockouts and and he’s won a lot of fights by decision. Add to that, he is 38-years-old and still pound-for-pound number #1, and currently holds four belts in two weight classes. However, no one questions Golovkin when he says that ‘if Floyd thinks he’s the best then he needs to fight me then.’
As a lover of all things boxing related the hype train needs to be derailed until all fighters can climb aboard and get the same exposure as the ones that pen big deals with major networks and promoters. The NBC premier fighters will be very interesting. It’s something for us all to look forward to with great eagerness.
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