Final Press Conference (Photo credit: Will Hart/HBO) By Dominic Panaia: Rarely in boxing are we over awed by the talent we see whilst in the moment of today. We are looking at a fighter with not only the handsome good looks of a young distinguished actor or pop singer but the ferociousness of a lion stalking its prey.

Let’s take a look at Gennady Golovkin and where he stands today at his age and where he’s going compared to some of the great middleweight fighters of his time. (I chose to not add Sugar Ray Robinson as no one can quite compare)
At 32 yrs old with eleven defenses of his WBA Middleweight title, 31 fights with no losses and 28 KO’s, this is a fabulous record for a fighter of any era. Except for the fact that over the course of at least 5 decades we have witnessed some of the greatest middleweights to ever lace up gloves.

I’ll start with no particular two in the last Twenty years and end with no particular two in history, so let’s begin with Roy Jones Junior; one of the greatest fighters of our time who stalked. He toyed with and demolished everyone from middleweight to light heavyweight. You may ask why Roy? Well that’s easy. He started at middleweight and like many other of his era, he went up and up and up fighter’s in the 90’s and early 2000’s were not satisfied with the weights. They started at and continuously pushed themselves to dominate ascending weights.

By the time Roy was 32 years old, as Gennady is today, he had captured 46 wins 1 loss a disqualification that was unfortunate which he rectified in the next fight with a round 1 KO. Roy Jones managed to grab the IBF Middleweight title, IBF Super Middleweight title, WBC Light Heavyweight title, WBA Light Heavyweight title and the IBF Light Heavyweight title. Roy plowed through the weights all by the time he was 32 year old. The interesting thing about Roy Jones is a couple years later he was all but shot as a fighter, although he managed another 21 fights he lost 7 of them and 4 of those fights were either TKO or KO. So it’s safe to say Roy Jones seen a huge decline after the age of 34.

Next cab of the rank is none other than the Executioner Bernard Hopkins who is still active today at 50 years old and continues to push the boundary of agelessness. Bernard Hopkins started his career a little hard with a first fight loss which saw the then 177lbs youngster take over a year off fighting and bounce back lighter and harder with a determination that created the man we see today. Hopkins went on to be a star of the middleweight division and through history we see by the time Bernard was 32 years of age he had amassed a record of 36 wins 1 loss to the great Roy Jones and a draw he managed to rectify immediately to capture the IBF Middleweight title. Hopkins defended that title some eight times before going up in weight and starring in the Light Heavyweight division. The fact that he is still relevant and fighting today shows how determined this man was and still is.

What would a middleweight conversation be without the great Marvelous Marvin Hagler, a legend in his time and a great in the sport many generations later. Marvin Hagler’s career shows just how tough and hard the fighters were of yester-year. By the time Hagler was Gennady Golovkin’s age, he was nearly retired and had amassed 61 wins 3 losses and 3 draws by the time he was 32; not to mention he held every belt in the middleweight division – the WBA, WBC and IBF belts. Hagler defended successfully over and over again, but the things about Marvelous Marvin was he fought everyone out there in his division from the pinch hitters to the craftsmen. By the time he was 33 it was gone a fantastic career and he managed to leave with his head held high.

We can debate many perspectives of the Middleweight division and great names are always attached to this super league of champions, none greater than the next fighter the one and only Carlos Monzon, a monster in the ring that hit hard and fought like a demon possessed. Escopeta as his fans called him which means “shotgun” in Spanish tells the whole story of Carlos Monzon. By the time Carlos was 32 years old, he had amassed a staggering 83 fights 3 loss and 9 draws. During his career he held the two championship belts in the WBA and WBC. Monzon never took a backwards step throughout his career with the greatness on display he was fighting regularly but only managed to survive another 3 years before he was completely out of gas at 35 years old.

So we have fighters that climb, fighters that fought every month, guys that won every title in their path and a guy that is still active today at 50 years old. Their careers contrasting in different light to the career we are witnessing today in Gennady Golovkin, his heavy hands have captivated an audience from all around the world with people dreaming of him fighting guys smaller like Floyd Mayweather and bigger like André Ward even Bernard Hopkins himself.

The thing that stands out the most for me is time factor for Gennady Golovkin. At 32 yrs old, he will be 33 by the time he looks for his next fight after his showdown with Martin Murray, who is hardly a great puncher but a classy boxer in his own right.

Murray’s power will not trouble Gennady, so expect to see him walk straight through Martin Murray and push him over by the 5th round if it goes that far. We all hope this fight can go longer than his past fights so we can see what he is made of when taken to deeper waters. Whilst many people will say no one wants to fight him, I am not sure that this is true.

Many casual fans need to understand that Boxing is not full of weak men or cowards; these men are all gladiators. From the guy with 15 losses to the guy with a perfect record, a man that can stand toe to toe with other men deserves your respect. It takes courage to make that walk to the ring.

For me Gennady Golovkin needs to use this year to both unify the division or step up to the next level and take out some big names because at soon to be 33 he has maybe 4- 5 years to capture everything before the sports pushes him out. Unless of course he is like Hopkins, then we can expect to see GGG knocking out guys well into his 40’s. Unfortunately it’s not something that happens often but you never know.