By Dan Ambrose: IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (32-0, 29 KOs) wants to prove to fans that he can solve the southpaw and slick fighting style of challenger Willie Monroe (19-1, 6 KOs) on Saturday night on HBO.
Golovkin, 33, has shown that he can beat almost every style out there, but he hasn’t yet faced a slick fighter like Monroe. This is a much different type of an opponent compared to the guys that the hard hitting Golovkin has faced.
First off, it’s going to be a delicate balancing act for Golovkin because he’s going to need to wade in without getting hit too much because one of his goals is to impress the boxing fans that will be tuning in to watch him on HBO.
In Golovkin’s 19 consecutive knockouts, he’s rarely been hit except for his clash with Kassim Ouma in 2011. Golovkin took a lot of shots in that fight and ended up with a swollen face. But he’s improved a lot since that fight, and he hasn’t been hit in his last 11 fights.
Martin Murray, a bigger and heavier fighter, was able to land some shots against Golovkin last February, but Murray didn’t have the punching power to worry Golovkin. The fight turned out to be a game of cat and mice with Golovkin chasing Murray all around the ring until putting an end to the fight in the 11th.
“I think it’s a little different for me because Monroe has a different style,” Golovkin said via ESPN.com. “He is a southpaw. It’s very interesting for me. He has good speed and is a good mover. Remember, everybody who is a good boxer has a problem with southpaws. Canelo [Alvarez] did and [Miguel] Cotto had problems with [Austin] Trout. This is a new style and a new situation for me. I want to beat any style. This is a new step for me.”
The reason why Canelo and Cotto had problems against Austin Trout was because those two fighters are limited in terms of talent. Trout isn’t a great fighter; the reason he had success against those guys is because Canelo and Cotto are both badly flawed, as we saw in their defeats against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Golovkin should do well against Monroe because he’s a lot more talented than Canelo and Cotto. Golovkin is going to need to cut off the ring on Monroe and force him into exchanges.
Yes, you can expect Monroe to do a lot of holding to try and keep Golovkin from getting his shots off, but Golovkin knows how to deal with that because Murray was clinching all night long in their fight last February. Golovkin was able to adjust after a couple of rounds to keep Murray from grabbing him so much.
Comments are closed.