By Sebastian Mora: As we watch this great Eastern European fighter WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, we just have to wonder, are we witnessing the white version of a Mike Tyson? As soon as the first round starts you could see how this guy goes from a nice humble guy, to a devastating monster with power, skills, and better yet ZERO compassion for his opponent.
What do I like the most? The sportsmanship that he shows after the fight is over. There is a lot of things to like from this guy and when there is a lot of things to like from a boxer like Golovkin, fans unfortunately tend to forget a lot of stuff and give the boxer and HIS TEAM a pass for many questionable decisions.
If you have read some of my past articles, you as a reader know that I will give you a complete breakdown to explain to you why I think what I think.
The Real: Golovkin is a beast. Simple as that. I see many people think that just because a fighter likes to come forward he automatically does not have any skills. I understand why people would think something like that, we see many fighters with coming forward and throwing wild punches as their only game plan. However, GGG is different. He does not only hurt his opponent with his amazing power, he also confuses and frustrates him with his ability to cut the ring, and of course you cannot forget how hard he works downstairs. His biggest critics say that is he is too slow and gets hit easily when he faces somebody with decent speed. Yes that is true, but as a former boxer I will tell you that the most important thing is boxing is not speed and power, but timing, positioning, experience, AND a good chin. Gennedy Golovkin happens to have all those 4 in my opinion. If you watch Gennady Golovkin closely you can see that he is constantly thinking and collecting data from his opponent, (Something slick boxers tend to do) he does not waste any punches, every move he makes has a purpose. One of the most amazing things is his footwork. When people think of footwork most people think a Floyd Mayweather type of fighter. That is not the only effective foot work in boxing thought, if you watch this boxer closely you will notice that he has a wide stance which takes up a lot of space in the ring so it is harder for his opponent to run away, and also he NEVER loses balance.
Why is never loosing balance so important? Because that makes up for poor defense, if you are always in balance and you have a decent chin like Golovkin does, you will be able to punch harder and you will take shots A LOT better. I only see 2 boxers today with the skills, the heart, and the boxing IQ to be able to beat this monster. I won’t say who they are now, I will mention them in my next article.
The Fake: Golovkin is the most avoided fighter right now. First of all any REAL boxing fan will tell you that the most avoided fighter in the sport of boxing is WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo “EL CHACAL” Rigondeaux.
Second of all, how is Golovkin the most avoided fighter in boxing today? Just because Saul “Canelo” Alvarez does not want to fight him right now? Or because Miguel Cotto wants milk his WBC middleweight title? Am I the only one to notice that the two men that this man is willing to prove himself against are both SMALLER than he is?
Most of us seem to forget the Golovkin has been pro for nine years. Is those nine years do you fight fans really believe that his team was not able to find him somebody that was worth it?
My biggest problem not with Golovkin, but with his team is when they complain that Cotto, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Canelo (All smaller than GGG) are not willing to fight him because he is not a big enough name, but when they are asked about Erislandy Lara or Andre Ward they say they are not big enough names.
Do you fight fans see what is wrong here? A fighter that has been pro for nine years and never fought somebody of note is saying that he should not fight low reward high risk fighters, but the fighters that earned their place in boxing (Mayweather, Cotto, Canelo) by fighting other tough fighters should fight him.
Let’s be real; if K2 promotions would of wanted to put Golovkin against better guys they would of accomplished it.
Conclusion: When Canelo was knocking out all those 140 pounders and faded 147 pounders and he called Mayweather out, everybody demanded that he fought somebody of note before he called a boxer like Mayweather out. What did Canelo do? He fought Austin Trout, which at the time he had just schooled Cotto and was accusing Canelo of avoiding him. Was a fight against Trout a high reward one for Canelo? No, but it was a fight he had to take to proof that he was for real. When Mayweather started calling Oscar de la Hoya out, he had already beat top fighters, and still that was not enough to get him his big money fight. He went on to beat a prime and focused Zab Judah, and then a tough Carlos Baldomir. (Which many thought would bully Mayweather the way Jose Luis Castillo did) Before Cotto started getting big money fights, he had to beat a hard puncher in Ricardo Torres, a then talented prospect in Paulie Malignaggi, a prime Zab Judah, and a dangerous Shane Mosley.
My point is that those three fighters have earned their spot in boxing. When they asked for big money fights, we demanded that they would take other fights that were low reward but that would proof to us fight fans that they were legit. In my opinion Golovkin should give up that mentality that he is the most avoided fighter in the world, and give a rematch to Kassim Ouma, fight Lara if he’s willing to fight at 160, try to get a fight with Andy Lee, or another prospect at 168. I want Golovkin to fight another fighter that is trying to make it to the top, that won’t give him a big purse but that will proof to us fight fans that Golovkin is for real. Don’t get me wrong I think Lara would get knocked out by Golovkin, and Ward would have the toughest fight of his career vs GGG. However, just because we think a fighter is talented does not mean we should give him a pass and let him get big money fights without first proving himself like the other 3 big superstars already have.
Would I want Mayweather, Canelo, and Cotto to fight Golovkin? Yes, but I understand why they wouldn’t. If you have earned your spot at the top, you want other fighters to do just the same. If Golovkin was to beat a Lara, a Ward, or any other dangerous prospect, it would be harder for the big stars to avoid Golovkin. That is not the way Golovkin team sees it though, they want the superstars first, and then they want the dangerous fights. We as fight fans see that, but because we obviously know that the guy has talent we think it’s okay for him to take a shortcut to the big money fights.
What do you think of this beast fight fans? What is your opinion regarding his situation? Tell me your opinions!
If you wish to contact me, you can do so at sebastianmora67@yahoo.com.
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