Hypocrisy in boxing

By Niall Kaye - 04/04/2015 - Comments

golovkin94By Niall Kaye: For the fighters of today it is now de rigueur to use the clichéd excuse of boxing being a ‘business’ as a defense mechanism against questions regarding future opponents. The sheer hypocrisy which abounds our sport is startling.

A relevant example comes in the form of Gennady Golovkin, a man who has instilled fear into the occupants of middleweight, the like of which few before him have replicated. Myriads of fighters and trainers have attempted to defame and besmirch his successes, all with a singular goal in mind: to avoid fighting him.

Around 6 months ago Carl Froch conducted a poll on his Facebook page, imploring his fans to choose his next opponent. The three options were Julio Chavez jr, James De Gale and the aforementioned Gennady Golovkin. Unsurprisingly, Golovkin prevailed with ease, perhaps to the the cobras surprise, and indeed dismay. He has since claimed to be deserved of a Las Vegas swansong fight with the largely peripheral Chavez Jr, which he has stated will be more lucrative than a bout with Golovkin.

Chavez Jr has fought only twice since his defeat to Sergio Martinez, in which the Mexican didn’t disgrace himself, but lost decisively. He has since fought Brian Vera twice, and both bouts brought in poor viewing figures on HBO. Perhaps, then, it is fair to say Chavez Jr’s image and fan base has denigrated. Golovkin, in contrast, is becoming increasingly popular with each merciless knockout he barbarously assigns, and, as shown by his last fights viewing figures on HBO, is gaining widespread popularity. British fans, ask yourself, what you would rather dish out copious money to see, Froch vs. Chavez Jr or Froch vs. Golovkin? I know which I would pick.

Whilst I understand the super bantamweight’s reluctance to fight the masterful Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux, for bona fide financial reasons in which the risk really isn’t worth the minute reward, the same logic is not applicable to those who insist that Golovkin is not a ‘draw.’ Their reluctance to fight Golovkin is not born out of the lack of financial incentive, it is born out of fear, hypocrisy and above all, deceit.

With each day that passes, I find the excuses more perplexing. As a fan of Froch, I feel he would give Golovkin a run for his money. Froch is bigger, perhaps of equal strength and hits harder than any of Golovkin’s opponents thus far. So why not do what no one else will, and fight Goliath?

What is even more deplorable is Freddie Roach’s excuses as to why Miguel Cotto will not fight Golovkin.’ He’s a little too big,’ perhaps the most abjectly absurd. Cotto is the WBC middleweight champion. He has issued his intent to continue at 160, but will not fight a legitimate 160 fighter because they discriminate against opponents who are too big? Yet still, the Puerto Rican is set to fight either face Cornelius Bundrage, who is big at the weight, or Jorge Sebastian Heiland, who is enormous at the weight. Both of these fights will earn Cotto comparatively scant money relative to if he fought Golovkin.

Never has there been such a discernible exhibition of one fighter avoiding another.

As a consequence of this, Golovkin is consigned to facing partial talents and will do so for the foreseeable future until a ‘champion’ decides enough is enough. What is a harrowing thought is that, perhaps we will never see Golovkin’s full potential extrapolated due to the caliber of his opposition being weak, and through no fault of his own. This would be a travesty for the sport and for us fans, and this eventuality must be avoided.

Thank you for reading.



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