By Kurt Jean: Forget a torch bearer, forget a face of boxing and forget a PPV king. Boxing needs to get back to its roots. IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennadhy Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) is tapping into that greatness that is readily available to any other fighter who is dedicated the “art” of boxing.
I cringe when I hear people saying that he’s overhyped and untested. Golovkin has 300+ amateur fights, that’s off the bat. Furthermore, let us inquire, is he fundamentally sound? Golovkin is an expert at the basics of boxing. His jabbing percentage being sufficient proof. Not every champion can claim that.
It’s possible he might lose but he will never be “exposed”. Whoever is put in front of him, he will defeat soundly. Isn’t that what we wanted? The old school fighting mentality. Like in any sphere of society, in some strange way and manipulated way, the people still decide. Golovkin is that clear distinction in delineating what is boxing and what is not.
The people may not have a proper definition, they may not exactly know what they are looking for in “real” boxing, but as they see GGG, they get it. He has that “IT”. He gives us a glimpse of the latent greatness him. He is one of those guys that will capture a moment in time, in the near future. It’s not only the KO’s; it’s the intention in his actions. He fights like a man that wants to be great. His whole swagger is just that.
He is a fighter that enforces all the unwritten rules of boxing on himself. From showmanship, to punch output, to aggression, to rates of exchange and risk taking, the whole package. That’s what greats do; they do it at a high level. They “put” on a show. Great prize fighters have a knack for knowing how to unfold their presentation along the viewing public’s attention span. This is where the “art” part comes in. It’s essentially a spectacle.
How do I pack 3 minutes with worthy material so as to engage people that are not “experts” in the event? He fights like a song that cannot get boring because his every single movement in the ring is arranged and designed to produce excitement, entertainment, and thrill for the fans, while also minimizing the extent to which he get’s punished. He apparently treads a fine line between danger and aggression but his ring savvy and acumen are what tie the whole illusive process together.
In the line of the all time great Roberto Duran. He isn’t fan friendly, his style his designed for the fans. So far in what has been in his control, GGG has done absolutely everything he could and more. Root for his mission, if not for him, because he can only do well in changing public perception and demand. He just might put a dent in the whole business of politics and create a wave of discontentment amongst the fans that are sick and tired of seeing garbage fights featuring talented fighters/prospects that are unpolished showman.
Other “top” fighters hide behind a rigged system to produce duds and give sporadic bursts of action knowing damn well they are going to get paid regardless. The art of putting on a show should not be confused with full out sluggish wars in which fighters constantly lose their balance, load on windmill shots with no technique or game plan. There must be an efficient, pleasant and chronological order to the unfolding of a destructive display of boxing skills, GGG has just that, a perfect method to his madness.
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