Golovkin: Groves needs more punching power

Boxing: Golovkin vs LemieuxBy Scott Gilfoid: Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin says he watched #3 WBC super middleweight contender George Groves’ recent defeat at the hands of WBC 168lb champion Badou Jack, and he feels that Groves lacks punching power. He needs to improve in that area, Golovkin says. He still feels that Groves (21-3, 16 KOs) can win a world title in the super middleweight division, but that he needs some punching power to make him a better fighter.

Groves and Golovkin sparred with each other in the past, and Golovkin says he hurt Groves to the body and he believes he broke a rib during the sparring session. Golovkin denied the rumors that Groves knocked him down during the sparring session. Golovkin says it was very easy spar because Groves was slow and lacked power.

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IBF orders Golovkin to face Dominic Wade

Image: IBF orders Golovkin to face Dominic WadeBy Dan Ambrose: IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) can forget about fighting a unification fight for his next fight on April 23 or a big name. The International Boxing Federation has ordered Golovkin to defend against #3 IBF Dominic Wade (18-0, 12 KOs), according to Dan Rafael.

Wade is one of Al Haymon’s fighters. The question is does Haymon let the Golovkin-Wade fight take place or does he choose to have Wade go in another direction? Haymon is a good manager. He doesn’t have a habit of putting his fighters in fights that they don’t have a good chance of winning.

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Gilberto Ramirez calls out Gennady Golovkin

ramirez5By Allan Fox: #1 WBO super middleweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (33-0, 24 KOs) says he’s interested in fighting IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) at some point. Ramirez has a fight for a title against WBO 168lb champion Arthur Abraham (44-4, 29 KOs) on April 9 on HBO pay-per-view.

If the 24-year-old Ramirez wins that fight, he would be happy to face Golovkin at super middleweight. Ramirez’s promoter Bob Arum is on board with matching the 6’2” Ramirez against Golovkin if they both win their next fights. Arum believes that Ramirez would have too much for Golovkin.

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Golovkin’s trip to UK could mean Saunders or Eubank Jr. fight

Image: Golovkin's trip to UK could mean Saunders or Eubank Jr. fightBy Dan Ambrose: Last weekend, IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin traveled to the UK with his promoter Tom Loeffler to watch a football game at West Ham.

While it might not have been a big deal if Golovkin had taken the trip alone or with family members, it was a little peculiar that he went over there with his promoter Loeffler. This has more than a few boxing fans speculating that the reason for Golovkin’s visit to the UK was to line up a fight with either WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders, who Golovkin was previously in negotiations with for a unfiicaiton fight, or a fight against #1 WBA Chris Eubank Jr.

Either of those fights would be excellent match-ups for Golovkin’s next fight on April 23 on HBO. Eubank Jr. has already said that he sees flaws in Golovkin’s game that he thinks he can exploit. It would be arguably better for Eubank Jr. to take the fight with Golovkin now rather than face WBA “regular” champion Daniel Jacobs, who Eubank Jr. is the mandatory challenger for.

If Golovkin fights Saunders, it would likely take place in an outdoor stadium. This is why a trip to the UK would be a smart thing for Loeffler and Golovkin to do, because it would give them the chance to scout out the different stadiums and meet up with the British promoters for one of these two fighters.

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Golovkin to fight Saunders?

Boxing: Golovkin vs LemieuxBy Scott Gilfoid: IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler sent out a Tweet on Saturday showing him and Golovkin at the We Ham United vs. Manchester City game in the UK. It’s unclear what the circumstances are for Golovkin going all the way to England just to see a football game.

I can’t imagine them wanting to BOTH go through the hassle and the expense of having to travel over to the UK just to see a football game. As such, it gives he a hunch that they’re both in the UK trying to set up a fight against WBO 160lb champion Billy Joe Saunders (23-0, 12 KOs) for a unification fight on April 23rd.

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Loeffler: Golovkin had to work harder to get to where he is than Mayweather and Ward

Boxing: Golovkin vs LemieuxBy Dan Ambrose: Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions says his fighter IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) had to put in a lot harder work for him to become a star compared to homegrown fighters Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Andre Ward, both of which were U.S Olympians in the past.

Loeffler points out that Golovkin came to the U.S from his home country of Kazakhstan and had to build a fan base the hard way by putting in impressive performances that wowed the American fans to win them over slowly.

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Golovkin’s promoter wants Canelo fight for May

Boxing: Golovkin vs LemieuxBy Dan Ambrose: IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) are both in a tough situation as far as their fights go.

Neither guy has an opponent for their next fights, and the landscape looks bleak for both in terms of finding quality opponents that the boxing public cares about. Canelo needs a fairly big name for his May 7 fight on HBO pay-per-view, because he can’t choose just anyone if he’s going to be asking the boxing public to pay big money to see him fight.

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Arum: Gilberto Ramirez beats Golovkin; he won’t get Canelo

ramirez78By Dan Ambrose: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says he wants to match his unbeaten 24-year-old fighter Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (33-0, 24 KOs) against Gennady Golovkin in Ramirez’s first defense if he beats WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (44-4, 29 KOs) in their fight on April 9th on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley.

Arum expects the 6’2” Ramirez to defeat Abraham to win his WBO 168lb title, and then he’d like for Ramirez to defend against Golovkin after that. Arum also sees Ramirez beating Golovkin.

“I think Golovkin and Tom Loeffler would rather fight Canelo,” Arum said to Fighthype. “I don’t think that fights going to happen. He [Golovkin] might even want to fight the English guy Saunders.

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Golovkin no opponent for April; Tureano Johnson injured

Boxing: Golovkin vs LemieuxBy Dan Ambrose: It looks like IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin won’t be fighting his IBF mandatory challenger Tureano Johnson (19-1, 13 KOs) in April.

The 31-year-old Johnson has a shoulder injury that will require surgery, according to Dan Rafael. This leaves Golovkin with no opponent for his April fight on HBO. WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez also doesn’t have a pay-per-view worthy opponent yet for his next fight on May 7.

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Atlas: Canelo vs. Golovkin is not going to happen

atlasBy Dan Ambrose: In the view of trainer Teddy Atlas, we won’t be seeing the fight between WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin this year. Atlas feels that Canelo has too many other options to make good money, and he doesn’t need to take a dangerous opponent like Golovkin.

Atlas feels that Golovkin is too big and too strong for Canelo. Atlas sees Canelo’s huge Latino fan base as making it possible for him to do well financially fighting anyone in the sport. Canelo doesn’t have to fight good opponents for him to make money. We’ve seen that recently with Canelo making good money fighting the likes of James Kirkland and Alfredo Angulo.

Neither of those fighters are factors in the 154lb division. They’re just a couple of names from the past that are no longer relevant at this point in the sport. Canelo still fought them and made good money.

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