Think “Donald Curry” If You Get Carried Away About Golovkin

Published

12 years ago

September 2, 2012

Lee Wylie

GolovkinEmpireSB1 large Golovkin, seen here in NYC, gets a thumbs up from Wylie, but the writer still cautions admirers not to go overboard, not yet.

Undoubtedly, Saturday night was the best night Gennady Golovkin 24-0 {21} has ever had as a professional fighter. Against an extremely awkward opponent in Grzergoz Proksa 28-2 {21}, who was perceived to be the Kazakhstani's toughest opponent to date, Golovkin looked quite brilliant, completely overwhelming his overmatched opponent inside five, one-sided rounds. As soon as Golovkin landed a left hand early in the opening frame, Proksa closed shop, and was reluctant to let his hands go for the remainder of the fight. As a result, Proksa spent far too much time feinting and posturing from the outside, instead of punching. The feint, when performed correctly, is one of the most useful tools in any fighter's arsenal. Performed incorrectly however –should a fighter do it too much as was the case with last night with Proksa– then he runs the risk of telegraphing his feints. If an opponent isn't lured into thinking the feint is the beginning of a punch –as Golovkin clearly wasn't– then it becomes a wasted motion and an opponent can ignore its false intentions. Proksa carries his hands very low, and shoots from the hip, in order to disguise the angles of his punches, a Muhammad Ali, Roy Jones Jr, Sergio Martinez dynamic. The problem with this of course, is if you don't allow you hands to move against a heavy handed fighter, then you simply become a fighter who has his hands down by his waist on defense, and this is suicide against a known puncher like Golovkin.

Rather regrettably, prior to the fight I hadn't been overly impressed with Golovkin. His amateur pedigree was obvious, but I saw him more as a good fighter who had, thus far, simply dominated inferior opposition who complemented his seek and destroy style perfectly. To further my point, I actually picked Proksa to pull off the upset last night. I thought his herky jerky movement, volume and southpaw angles would have been the perfect foil for the slower moving Golovkin, preventing him from getting off and from shortening up the distance. I couldn't have been more wrong. As I've already mentioned, hesitancy to throw punches was partially to blame, but the rest of what lead to Proksa's massacre lies within the work of Golovkin's, who I may have severely underestimated, in particular, his level of skill.

Here are my own observations from last nigh on the winner:

#1. His dominant hand:

Golovkin, who fights out of an orthodox stance, could be naturally left handed. Even grazing shots that came from the left hand, that didn't seem to land all that cleanly, hurt Proksa, who hadn't tasted the canvas as a pro or an amateur before last night.

#2. The jab:

Golovkin's jab may be lacking in technique, but its power is there for all to see. There haven't been too many fighters who could hurt and wobble an opponent with the jab. Sonny Liston was one, Marvin Hagler was another. It looks like Golovkin's jab may be cut from the same cloth as those two. It may not be delivered with any real speed or snap, but the length of it, as well as its capacity to inflict some hurt on an opponent, more than makes up for any shortcomings in the technique department.

#3. Defense:

This was the area where I was most impressed with Golovkin. Rather than block punches behind a high guard, which lengthens a fighters' transition time between defense and offense, Golovkin prefers to carry his hands openly and just below his chin. No word of a lie, I saw some defensive techniques from Golovkin last night that have become lost in the modern fight game. Apart from good head and upper body movement, Golovkin showed some serious skill in his ability to slip and parry. Golovkin also displayed his ability to pick straight punches off by coming down on them with the point of his elbow {sometimes known as barring} and there was even the old technique known as the stop hit, which is an old Wing chun technique that many fighters from the past utilized {intercepting an attack with the jab while turning the attack away simultaneously}. It's very rare you see it at all these days. Golovkin's hands are not that fast, but by employing many of these defensive techniques, his hands are already in a semi-offensive position. Hence, Golovkin appears faster than what he really is.

#4. Calmness:

Every time Golovkin had his man in trouble last night, note how calm and patient he was in going for the finish. Many a fighter swings wildly once they smell blood. Not Golovkin. As he moved in for the kill, Golovkin's eyes were wide open, looking for gaps. Some people think combination punching is all about speed. Golovkin showed exactly how combinations should be thrown. Mixing up straights, hooks and uppercuts, to the head and body and around an opponent's guard, taking advantage of any openings available. Even when Proksa looked ready to be taken out, Golovkin wasn't afraid to take his time, even taking a step back at one point in order to make sure he's throwing the most efficient punches for the situation. The ability to finish an opponent is an art and it's something that is taken for granted these days.

#5. Pressure:

Many an observer, including HBO's Max Kellerman and Roy Jones, have compared Golovkin to Julio Cesar Chavez Sr because of the similarities in their styles. While there are a few traits which could lead one to draw comparisons between the two –namely Golovkin's ability to snake a left hook to the body underneath an opponent's guard– I think they are slightly different, especially in their approach and the pressure they apply. At times, Chavez was unrelenting with his pressure. If you look at prime Chavez, his emphasis was to pin a man against the ropes before systematically breaking him down by while not allowing his opponent to get his own work done in the process. {Take a look at the Edwin Rosario fight as an example}. Golovkin on the other hand, is slightly different. His pressure is more like that of Joe Louis or Carlos Monzon pressure, it's subtle pressure. Golovkin's emphasis is about pressurizing his opponent into making mistakes, so that he can capitalize on them with his heavy hands. Apart from when Proksa was hurt up on the ropes, Golovkin wasn't really looking to get inside at all costs, as was often the case with Chavez Sr. Golovkin is far more upright as he's moving in, remaining in perfect balance so that he's always in position to punch with maximum effect.

Don't confuse what I'm saying here, these comments are strictly about what techniques Golovkin employs inside the ring and they shouldn't be mistaken for direct comparisons to the likes of Liston, Hagler, Louis or Chavez Sr. Gennady Golovkin is a talented fighter, but he's light years away from being considered the equal of these men. In all honesty, he may not even be the equal of some other middleweights out there. Despite not looking all that big, Golovkin appears to be very physical but I'd like to see what would happen once someone can back him up. Would Golovkin be as effective or dangerous if he's forced onto the back foot? Julio Cesar Chavez Jr may be able to answer that question for us. Also, what would happen when he's in there with someone that could better the movement of Proksa, who shares the same southpaw stance but possesses much better foot work and hand speed as well as power and possibly a better chin? There's a middleweight out there in Sergio Martinez that would certainly provide some answers to those questions too. Then of course, there's the time-old saying that a fighter isn't a fighter until his chin has been tested. Even though we've been told he's never been hurt in training or sparring, I'd like to see what happens when Golovkin's hit cleanly on the chin in an actual fight. No matter how good an opponent's defense is, his chin will be tested at some point. Pernell Whitaker, who was hit more than most think, wouldn't have been the fighter he was unless his chin held up. Golovkin's good, but let's just wait a minute before we plaster saint him.

There's more to being a fighter than good fundamentals and power. It's times like this, when it's easy to get carried away with a fighters talent, that I say to myself –Donald Curry. Everyone should do the same.

Right now though, I'm happy to admit that I got it wrong with Golovkin. He's a serious talent who just made the middleweight division all the more interesting for all of us. Let's just leave it that…for now.

Comment on this article

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Lee Wylie

Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.

The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.

Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.

The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.

An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.

Moses Itauma

Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.

His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.

Photo (c): Mark Robinson

Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10^th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.

Bohachuk-Davis

In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.

Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.

Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.

Fisher-Allen

In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.

Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.

In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.

He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Other Bouts of Note

In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.

A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.

In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.

McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Fury-Usyk-Reignated-Can-the-Gypsy-King-Avenge-His-Londe-Defeat?

Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?

In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.

The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.

Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.

The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.

That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.

The first fight was a near “pick-‘em” affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Fury’s right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)

Tomorrow’s sequel, bearing the tagline “Reignited,” finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after today’s weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)

Given the politics of boxing, anything “undisputed” is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Dubois’s eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its “regular” heavyweight champion.

Another difference between tomorrow’s fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).

Tomorrow’s semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCann’s VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.

The focal points of tomorrow’s undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.

Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.

Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of “major league” boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.

We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the “A-side,” no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, “Who does the promoter need?”

The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Unheralded-Bruno-Sarace-went-to-Tijuana-and-Forged-the TSS-2024-Upset-of-the-Year

Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year

The Dec. 14 fight at Tijuana between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace was conceived as a stay-busy fight for Munguia. The scuttlebutt was that Munguia’s promoters, Zanfer and Top Rank, wanted him to have another fight under his belt before thrusting him against Christian Mbilli in a WBC eliminator with the prize for the winner (in theory) a date with Canelo Alvarez.

Munguia came to the fore in May of 2018 at Verona, New York, when he demolished former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali, conqueror of Miguel Cotto. That earned him the WBO super welterweight title which he successfully defended five times.

Munguia kept winning as he moved up in weight to middleweight and then super middleweight and brought a 43-0 (34) record into his Cinco de Mayo 2024 match with Canelo.

Jaime went the distance with Alvarez and had a few good moments while losing a unanimous decision. He rebounded with a 10th-round stoppage of Canada’s previously undefeated Erik Bazinyan.

There was little reason to think that Munguia would overlook Surace as the Mexican would be fighting in his hometown for the first time since February of 2022 and would want to send the home folks home happy. Moreover, even if Munguia had an off-night, there was no reason to think that the obscure Surace could capitalize. A Frenchman who had never fought outside France, Surace brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but he had only four knockouts to his credit and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records.

It appeared that Munguia would close the show early when he sent the Frenchman to the canvas in the second round with a big left hook. From that point on, Surace fought mostly off his back foot, throwing punches in spurts, whereas the busier Munguia concentrated on chopping him down with body punches. But Surace absorbed those punches well and at the midway point of the fight, behind on the cards but nonplussed, it now looked as if the bout would go the full 10 rounds with Munguia winning a lopsided decision.

Then lightning struck. Out of the blue, Surace connected with an overhand right to the jaw. Munguia went down flat on his back. He rose a fraction-of-a second before the count reached “10,”, but stumbled as he pulled himself upright. His eyes were glazed and referee Juan Jose Ramirez, a local man, waived it off. There was no protest coming from Munguia or his cornermen. The official time was 2:36 of round six.

At major bookmaking establishments, Jaime Munguia was as high as a 35/1 favorite. No world title was at stake, yet this was an upset for the ages.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!