By Dan Ambrose: WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (26-0, 12 KOs) believes there is no chance IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) will be able to out-box him when/if the two of them face each other at some point.
Saunders beat David Lemieux (38-4, 33 KOs) last weekend in Canada. He out-boxed the hard hitting Lemieux, who came into the fight with reputation for being a one-dimensional fighter. That one dimension is a devastating one due to Lemieux’s power, but he couldn’t land his big shots on Saunders due to the movement that he used throughout the 12 round fight.
The 35-year-old Golovkin wouldn’t be trying to box with Saunders. That would be a foolish mistake on Golovkin’s part. You don’t fight someone’s game. Saunders is a pure boxer with almost no punching power whatsoever. Against Golovkin, Saunders will focus on being elusive as much as possible. The movement that Saunders used in the Lemieux will likely be taken to another level to the point where it could be viewed as pure running. Saunders can’t fight Golovkin because he’ll get destroyed by him. Saunders doesn’t have the ability to stand in the pocket and beat Golovkin. Saunders must use the hit and run style that he employed against Lemieux.
“Golovkin’s got good power, good pressure, good footwork,” said Saunders to BBC 5. ”He’s not 28 anymore, he’s 35, to stand back and box me would take a lot…he would never outbox me,” said Saunders.
Golovkin has only chosen to box 3 of his opponents during his career, and that was against Saul Canelo Alvarez, Danny Jacobs and David Lemieux. Golovkin beat Jacobs and Lemieux, and he was given a controversial draw against Canelo last September. The boxing world saw Golovkin winning against a very tired looking Canelo.
Saunders did Golovkin a huge favor by beating Lemieux. Had Lemieux won that fight, Golden Boy Promotions likely would be matching him against Canelo on May 5, and putting the rematch against Golovkin on the backburner for September of next year. Saunders likely helped Golovkin get the Canelo rematch by taking care of the Golden Boy promoted Lemieux, and putting him out of the equation.
“You know everyone now is ‘Billy Joe is this, Billy Joe is the next big thing, he’s going to beat Golovkin, he can beat Canelo,’” said Saunders.
Saunders sounds deluded. Few if any boxing fans are assuming that Saunders will beat Canelo and Golovkin based on his performance against Lemieux. The way Saunders fought Lemieux, he’ll lose to badly to Golovkin and Canelo if he chooses to fight that way. Those 2 are going to cut off the ring and spear Saunders with body shots. They’re not going to go head hunting against a guy that is going to run around the ring. Golovkin will obviously throw jabs at Saunders if he runs from him, but mostly he’ll target his body the same way he did with Martin Murray when he was running from him. Golovkin will eventually trap Saunders against the ropes and hurt him with body and head shots. The body shots will wear Saunders down, and keep him from being able to run as much.
“Realistically I don’t really care because four months ago, before I went to Dominic [Ingle] I was a ‘washed up bum, who was holding the title hostage,” said Saunders.
Saunders probably won’t get a fight against Golovkin in 2018, and he’ll definitely not get a fight against Canelo ever. If Golovkin beats Canelo in May, Golden Boy will setup a third fight between them in September. Canelo will insist that he get the third fight with Triple G, since he’s not going to want to live with having been beaten. That Saunders will have to sit and wait and hope that either of those guys will want to fight him in 2019.
In the meantime, if the World Boxing Organization pushes Danny Jacobs to the No.1 spot in their rankings, then Saunders is going to have a real nightmare on his hands. Saunders took care of one nightmare in Lemieux last Saturday night, but it’s going to be a different story with Jacobs. He’s a much better fighter than Lemieux, and he’s fast on his feet. The WBO has Jacobs ranked #4 at this time. That’s going to change because #1 WBO Lemieux was just beaten, and #3 WBO Jermall Charlo is fighting for the interim WBC middleweight title. Those 2 will cleared out of the way, and Jacobs will be pushed near the top. #2 WBO is Rob Brant, but he was recently badly by Juergen Braehmer by a 12 round unanimous decision on October 27 in the World Boxing Super Series tournament, and he hasn’t fought since. It wouldn’t be surprising if the WBO pushes Jacobs to No.1 with their organization and forces Saunders to fight him in 2018. That’s going to be a lot tougher for Saunders to beat Jacobs. If Golovkin and Canelo are tied up next year fighting each other twice, then Saunders is going to need to fight another mandatory challenger. If Saunders is lucky, it’ll be Brant. If he’s not, it’ll be Jacobs, and that’s going to be a real hard right for him to win. Saunders won’t beat Jacobs by running from him for 12 rounds.