Niall Kaye

Who is boxing’s next superstar?

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canelo4566By Niall Kaye: It is hard to envisage boxing without the presence of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Similarly, many feared for the state of the sport following Muhammad Ali’s eventual retirement in 1981, but the sport survived, with the introduction of Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson going some way to quenching the indomitable void left by Ali.

Boxing, like any sport, is cyclical with new talents constantly emerging, whose paths eventually converge like Mayweather and Pacquiao’s belatedly have. These two maestro’s void will be difficult to fill for the rising stars of today, but the most likely candidates under 30 years old to do so are listed below:

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Hypocrisy in boxing

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golovkin94By Niall Kaye: For the fighters of today it is now de rigueur to use the clichéd excuse of boxing being a ‘business’ as a defense mechanism against questions regarding future opponents. The sheer hypocrisy which abounds our sport is startling.

A relevant example comes in the form of Gennady Golovkin, a man who has instilled fear into the occupants of middleweight, the like of which few before him have replicated. Myriads of fighters and trainers have attempted to defame and besmirch his successes, all with a singular goal in mind: to avoid fighting him.

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Is Golovkin overrated?

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golovkinBy Niall Kaye: Ever since our sports official inception around the year 1691 and through subsequent centuries, fans have had a voyeuristic obsession with power punchers. Think Jack Dempsey, Ernie Shavers and most notably Tyson, these men were amongst the most exciting, exhilarating and enigmatic figures the sport has seen, and their attraction was impelled exclusively by the devastating power they possessed in their fists.

But there was always a problem with pure power punchers: they are historically one dimensional, and so are beatable. In the case of WBA Super World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (31-0, 28 KOs), the aforementioned theory stands to be proven. But I must speak directly. I fear this theory will be proven sooner rather than later.

I hope you don’t construe my directness as unkindness, nor bias. Golovkin, is of yet, untested. He is able to emphatically beat fighters who are fearful of his power, who freeze on the night and who are caught up in the hype which he has induced. These fighters have expected to be beaten, and so were dispatched accordingly.

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IF Mayweather doesn’t fight Pacquiao

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floyd8888By Nial Kaye: The seemingly perpetual soap-opera style Floyd Mayweather Jr- Manny Pacquiao saga rolls on. Dishearteningly , apparent logistical stumbling blocks have surfaced, putting the fight in jeopardy. The perception of many studious and respected analysts is that Mayweather is at fault for this, due to his own vacillation.

Despite my belief that Mayweather is a superior fighter and would win the potential fight, I share the view that Mayweather’s indecision is depriving the fans of this fight. This has been detrimental to Mayweather’s legacy, of which he cares so much about. He is undoubtedly deserved of a place amongst boxing’s historical elite, if only due to his tremendous skills.

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