By Allan Fox: Trainer Virgil Hunter thinks that IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin cannot afford to fight his fighter former WBA super middleweight champion Andre “SOG” Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) right now because Ward has a fighting style that is just all wrong for the 33-year-old Golovkin.
Hunter notes that Golovkin’s promoters at K2 Promotions has done a good job of building him up with the right fights, and he feels they have shown a good business model with how they’ve handled him.
However, if they make the mistake in putting Golovkin in with Ward, it would be bad for Golovkin because of the things that Ward can do. Golovkin is there to be hit against any top fighter, and Ward would take advantage of that.
“I know Andre wanted the fight [against Golovkin]. I think if Ward and Golovkin fought, to be honest with you, they [Golovkin] can’t afford to fight Andre right now because his style is just not good for Golovkin,” said Hunter to Fighthub.
This is not a good time for Golovkin to be facing a difficult fighter like Ward. Golovkin is looking to get a big money pay-per-view fight against WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September, and Ward would mess that fight up by possibly beating Golovkin. I don’t think Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler at K2 Promotions is going to put him in a position where he can get beaten because there’s too much for him to lose in a fight against Ward. A victory over Ward would be a huge plus for Golovkin’s career, but there is too much change that Golovkin would lose.
It’s hard to disagree with Hunter about Ward’s fighting style not being good for Golovkin right now. Golovkin is too easy to hit, and he leaves himself wide open due to his tendency to slig with his opponents. If Golovkin fights in his usual slugging manner against a skilled fighter like Ward, it could be bad foir Golovkin.
Golovkin and Ward are going in different directions right now, so there’s no reason for them to get inside the ring with one another. The time for them to face each other was in 2015, when they were only separated by one division.
Ward wanted Golovkin t come up to super middleweight so that he could fight him, but Golokvin and his team weren’t interested in the fight. Instead of taking the fight with Ward, Golovkin fought IBF middleweight champion David Lemieux last October. Golovkin is now fighting his IBF mandatory challenger Dominic Wade (18-0, 12 KOs) on April 23 on HBO Championship Boxing from the Forum in Inglewood, California. This should be an easy fight for Golovkin because Wade isn’t a big puncher and he’s got limited talent. Golovkin has the better experience and punching power.
Ward has a fight next month against unbeaten #1 IBF light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs) on March 26 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. Ward is expected to win the fight, but it could prove to be a difficult fight for him because of Barrera’s punching power.
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