By Ken Hissner: Philadelphia Light Heavyweight Dhafir “No Fear” Smith, with over 50 fights including a victory over former IBF Super Middleweight champion Jeff Lacy talks about being in training camp with both Andre “S.O.G.” Ward and Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin.

I remember calling Smith when he was in camp preparing for a defense against Philly’s Gabe “King” Rosado. Smith told me, “he hits like a heavyweight!” Another Philly boxer Farah Ennis was also in the camp, and when asked how he was doing, he said, about Golovkin, “He’s beating the s**t out of me!”

Golovkin held the WBA, WBC, and IBF middleweight titles at times from 2010 to 2023 when he gave up his IBF and WBA titles this year after failing in challenging WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF Super Middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September of 2022. He had won the WBA title in April of 2022 in Japan, stopping Ryota Murata.

In December 2010, he won the WBA title, stopping Nilson Tapia 14-2-1. After ten defenses, he added the WBC title, stopping Marco Antonio Rubio, 59-6-1, in October 2014 in Carson, CA. Three defenses later, he added the IBF title, stopping David Lemieux, 34-2, in October 2015 in Madison Square Garden, New York. In October 2019, he regained the IBF title defeating Sergiy Derevyanchenko, 13-1, in Madison Square Garden.

Golovkin had his 23-knockout streak broken when he defeated Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs in March 2017. In his next fight, he got robbed in a split draw with Alvarez in defense of his IBF, WBA, and WBC titles. Two fights later, he lost a majority decision to Alvarez and had to wait four years for a rematch he lost in his last fight.

The former Olympian has a record of 42-2-1 with 37 stoppages and is from Karaganda, KAZ. He had 23 title defenses.

Ward was a 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist who held the WBA, WBC, and WBO Super Middleweight titles and the WBA, WBO, and IBF Light Heavyweight titles. His final record was 32-0 with 16 stoppages. He was from Oakland, California.

In November 2009, Ward defeated Mikkel Kessler, 42-1, for the WBA Super Middleweight title in Oakland. After three defenses, he defeated Carl Froch for his WBC title in December of 2011 in Atlantic City. He defended his title 6 times.

In November 2016, he won the IBF, WBA, and WBO Light Heavyweight titles defeating Sergey Kovalev, 30-0-1, in Las Vegas. He defended against Kovalev in the rematch and retired.

On Golovkin, Dhafir Smith said, “It was the toughest camp I have ever been in. He hits like a heavyweight all over your body.” He was in camp for five weeks with GGG.

Smith spent three weeks in Oakland with Ward, preparing for his title defense with Carl Froch“which was in 2011. Ward is one of the best skilled and smart boxers I‘ve been in with.” Smith lost to Ward in 2007.

Smith thought Ward would win a decision unless Golovkin stopped him.