Gennady Golovkin Really Good, Getting Better

Published

11 years ago

July 28, 2014

NEW YORK – The fastest-rising star in boxing has a nickname, “Triple G,” that would seem simple enough to figure out. The star’s full name is, after all, Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin. He is a 32-year-old knockout artist who would appear to be a man for all seasons, and apparently all regions, a world traveler who was born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, now resides in Stuttgart, Germany, trains in Big Bear, Calif., and is becoming one of the hottest sports tickets in this international media capital since Derek Jeter was a kid shortstop for the Yankees and Madison Square Garden was still the mecca of boxing.

But to hear Golovkin’s promoter tell it, in the aftermath of GGG’s latest demolition derby, that nickname could just as well stand for Good and Galloping toward Great. Even though Golovkin stepped inside the Garden’s hallowed ring as a 4-to-1 favorite over Australia’s Daniel Geale, who came in as a reasonably well-regarded two-time former alphabet champion in the middleweight division, the comparative ease with which the WBO/IBO 160-pound titlist won – on a third-round technical knockout, the takeout shot coming on a crackling counter right hand to the jaw a split-second after Geale had landed a big right of his own – had superlatives flowing like wine at an ancient Roman bacchanal.

“We don’t think there’s anyone in the middleweight division that can stand up to Gennady’s power,” pronounced K2 Promotions’ Tom Loeffler, who suggested the fast-filling Golovkin bandwagon was reminiscent of the heady rise of another dangerous puncher from an earlier era.

“It’s kind of the Mike Tyson effect here in America that Gennady’s bringing to the middleweight division,” Loeffler said of Golovkin, who smiles a lot more than Iron Mike back did during his snarling, baddest-man-on-the-planet heyday. But regardless of his postfight disposition, it has been a rapid and remarkable transformation for Golovkin, of whom many Americans knew little, if anything, until he decided to come to this country two years ago to see if the streets really were paved with gold and dream fulfillment was indeed possible for someone who dared to think big and had the will and the wallop to back it up.

Golovkin’s exclamation-point victory, his 18^th consecutive victory inside the distance, seemed all the more electrifying in comparison to the co-featured bout of the HBO-televised doubleheader, a WBC heavyweight eliminator pitting Philadelphia’s Bryant “By-By” Jennings against Cuba expatriate and Ireland-based Mike Perez. Jennings (19-0, 12 KOs) won a split decision that would have ended in a draw had not referee Harvey Dock, who had issued multiple warnings to Perez, deducted a point from him in the 12^th round for hitting on the break. With the win, Jennings is guaranteed first dibs on the winner of a yet-unscheduled bout between WBC champ Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) and Deontay Wilder (31-0, 31 KOs).

“It was a very technical fight,” Jennings said. “(Perez) wouldn’t trade with me. I wanted him to stand in there and fight. I was expecting the inside pressure of Mike Perez. It didn’t happen.”

There was no such hesitancy to engage on the part of Geale (30-3, 16 KOs), who appeared to understand that Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs) – who was 345-5 during a storied amateur career – was too adept at cutting off the ring for the challenger to successfully play keepaway for 12 rounds. Geale was determined to meet GGG’s fire with a few flames of his own, and may he who got there first and hardest have his hand raised at the bout’s conclusion, whenever it came.

Geale, who went down in the first round (after tripping on a camera that the photographer had extended too far onto the ring apron) and again, legitimately, in the second after being on the wrong end of a left hook to the body and a right hand upstairs, did get there first in the climactic third stanza. His right hand landed, and with some oomph behind it, to Golovkin’s left temple, which gave the Aussie a mere nanosecond of exultation before GGG’s counter right landed with the percussive force of a runaway tractor-trailer. Even though Geale beat the count, his readiness to fight on, or lack of it, did not satisfy referee Michael Ortega, who waved his arms at the 2-minute, 47-second mark.

“I fought a guy everybody said had immense power,” Geale allowed. “He caught me with a good shot. Obviously, I’m very disappointed. I had a pretty good game plan going out there. Things were going (according) to plan, to some extent, but I guess when you make a mistake you have to pay the penalty.

“He definitely is a guy that’s going to be tough to beat. I’m not sure there’s too many guys out there that are going to give him much of a run.”

Someone asked the 33-year-old Geale, who has been boxing since he was nine, if Golovkin was the most devastating hitter he’d ever faced.

“Is he the hardest puncher? He’d be up there for sure,” Geale replied. “I’ve been hit by a lot of people. It’s hard to remember every single one. But I was expecting power. He’s a strong guy. Golovkin’s the type of guy that’s pretty well-rounded. He’s got good footwork. He has great timing, which means he’s going to have great power as well.”

For his part, Golovkin seemed pleased with himself. OK, so he didn’t follow the instructions of his trainer, Abel Sanchez, as assiduously as he might have. Sanchez kept hectoring Golovkin to mix up his attack, to go to the body more, and not to head-hunt so much. But, Sanchez said, “he was hell-bent on trying to knock him out early and he wasn’t listening.”

An unmarked Golovkin, flashing those pearly whites, said he was there to give the enthusiastic and pro-GGG crowd – the announced attendance was 8,572, in an arena scaled for a capacity of 9,000 or so – what it came to see.

“Not big surprise,” Golovkin said of the deepening love affair U.S. audiences have with him. “I think my fans, and all people who understand boxing, like my style. Is like Mexican style. Just fight. Is not boxing, just fight. I think people love this style. Is very good for me. For everybody.”

That simple declaration, as much as anything, explains why Golovkin, who has yet to appear in a pay-per-view bout, is being moved at a steady pace toward that elusive nirvana known as superstardom. He is the leading man of his personal Big Bang Theory, eager to swap punches with anyone in and around his weight class who has a heavy reputation and the gumption to test himself in the crucible of the squared circle. Golvokin’s expressed desire to face all comers is a refreshing change for frustrated aficionados of the sport who have tired of the circle dance involving Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, as well as others on either side of the roped-off curtain separating HBO- and Showtime-affiliated fighters.

What Golovkin wants – and the sooner the better – is unification matchups and the sort of star turns that can turn a visitor from a far-off land into America’s adopted sweetheart. Sanchez, who is Mexican-American, has a hankering to put in GGG against high-profile Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (48-1-1, 32 KOs), but Loeffler’s first priority is a likely future Hall of Famer, newly crowned WBC middleweight champ Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs), who has fought in New York 11 times and is box-office certainty in the Big Apple. Also on the radar screen are the other alphabet middleweight champs, the IBF’s Sam Solimon (44-11, 18 KOs) and the WBO’s Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs). Down at 154 pounds is super welterweight Canelo Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) and up at 168 are WBA champ Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) and WBA/IBF titlist Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KOs). If you’re confused by Ward and Froch both holding versions of the WBA crown, well, join the club.

“Gennady wants to prove that he’s the best middleweight champion,” Loeffler said. “The only way to do that is to fight the other champions. But we can’t force anyone to get in the ring. We saw that with the (proposed) Chavez fight. We agreed to a lot of different conditions to get the Chavez fight, and it didn’t happen.

“Cotto is at the top of our list right now. Chavez is at the top of Abel’s list. I think a fight between Miguel Cotto and Gennady Golovkin at the big arena here at Madison Square Garden is the biggest fight that can be made right now in New York City.”

And if securing desirable dates in the fall and winter isn’t possible because of the Garden’s bookings of Knicks and Rangers games, there’s always Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

“It was my prediction before the fight, and I stand by it, that this will be the highest-rated boxing show of any in America,” Loeffler said. “That’s a tribute to somebody from Kazakhstan, living in Germany, training in Big Bear, who’s been here less than two years. It’s the excitement he brings to the ring and fans seeing that he’s willing to fight anyone.”

So the hype drum for Golovkin continues to be banged with increasing enthusiasm. Sanchez, throwing caution to the wind, has gone so far as to compare GGG to such legendary fighters as Sugar Ray Robinson, Bernard Hopkins, Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler. It is an audacious leap of faith on Sanchez’s part and, until Golovkin fights and defeats as many of today’s elite practitioners of the pugilistic arts as is logistically possible, such comments are at best imprudent. Golovkin hasn’t even done enough yet to be compared with many of the middleweight champions whose last name begins with G, a select group that includes the likes of Harry Greb, Rocky Graziano, Joey Giardello and Emile Griffith, although he probably rates higher than Ceferino Garcia and Otis Grant.

But excitement and hope are where you find it, and fight fans desperate to identify new stars are looking to Golovkin and WBO light heavyweight champ Sergey Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs), the “Krusher from Russia” who defends his title against Australia’s Blake Caparello (19-0-1, 6 KOs) on Aug. 2 at the Revel in Atlantic City, as candidates to fill that void.

At the very least, Golovkin is doing much to erase the negative image of his homeland that stems from the hilarious but cruel 2006 mockumentary, “Borat: Cultural Leanings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” which starred British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen as a hapless journalist from a third-world sty. It remains to be seen whether GGG can knock Cotto or Canelo or Chavez into the ringside seats, but the guess here is that Cohen had best stay out of this very real Kazakh’s punching range.

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Bernard Fernandez

Jorge Garcia is the TSS Fighter of the Month for April

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Jorge-Garcia-is-the-TSS-Fighter-of-the-Month-for-April

Jorge Garcia has a lot in common with Mexican countrymen Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza. In common with those two, both reigning world title-holders, Garcia is big for his weight class and bubbled out of obscurity with a triumph forged as a heavy underdog in a match contested on American soil.

Garcia had his “coming of age party” on April 19 in the first boxing event at the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California (roughly 35 miles north of San Diego), a 7,500-seat facility whose primary tenant is an indoor soccer team. It was a Golden Boy Promotions event and in the opposite corner was a Golden Boy fighter, Charles Conwell.

A former U.S. Olympian, Conwell was undefeated (21-0, 16 KOs) and had won three straight inside the distance since hooking up with Golden Boy whose PR department ballyhooed him as the most avoided fighter in the super welterweight division. At prominent betting sites, Conwell was as high as a 12/1 favorite.

The lanky Garcia was 32-4 (26 KOs) heading in, but it was easy to underestimate him as he had fought extensively in Tijuana where the boxing commission is notoriously docile and in his home state of Sinaloa. This would be only his second fight in the U.S. However, it was noteworthy in hindsight that three of his four losses were by split decision.

Garcia vs. Conwell was a robust affair. He and Conwell were credited with throwing 1451 punches combined. In terms of punches landed, there was little to choose between them but the CompuBox operator saw Garcia landing more power punches in eight of the 12 rounds. At the end, the verdict was split but there was no controversy.

An interested observer was Sebastian Fundora who was there to see his sister Gabriela defend her world flyweight titles. Sebastian owns two pieces of the 154-pound world title where the #1 contender per the WBO is Xander Zayas who keeps winning, but not with the verve of his earlier triumphs.

With his upset of Charles Conwell, Jorge Garcia has been bumped into the WBO’s #2 slot. Regardless of who he fights next, Garcia will earn the biggest payday of his career.

Honorable mention: Aaron McKenna

McKenna was favored to beat veteran campaigner Liam Smith in the co-feature to the Eubank-Benn battle this past Saturday in London, but he was stepping up in class against a former world title-holder who had competed against some of the top dogs in the middleweight division and who had famously stopped Chris Eubank Jr in the first of their two encounters. Moreover, the venue, Tottenham Hotspur, the third-largest soccer stadium in England, favored the 36-year-old Liverpudlian who was accustomed to a big fight atmosphere having fought Canelo Alvarez before 50,000-plus at Arlington Stadium in Texas.

McKenna, from the small town of Monaghan, Ireland, wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion. With his dad Feargal in his corner and his fighting brother Stephen McKenna cheering him on from ringside, Aaron won a wide decision in his first 12-round fight, punctuating his victory by knocking Smith to his knees with a body punch in the 12^th round. In fact, if he hadn’t had a point deducted for using his elbow, the Irishman would have pitched a shutout on one of the scorecards.

“There might not be a more impressive example of a fighter moving up in class,” wrote Tris Dixon of the 25-year-old “Silencer” who improved his ledger to 20-0 (10).

Photo credits: Garcia/Conwell photo compliments of Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; McKenna-Smith provided by Mark Robinson/Matchroom

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Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Published

3 days ago

April 27, 2025

David A. Avila

Chris-Eubank-Jr-Outlasts-Conor-Benn-at-Tottenham-Hotsour-Stadium

Feudal bragging rights belong to Chris Eubank Jr. who out-lasted Conor Benn to
emerge victorious by unanimous decision in a non-title middleweight match held in
London on Saturday.

Fighting for their family heritage Eubank (35-3, 26 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs)
continued the battle between families started 35 years ago by their fathers at Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium.

More than 65,000 fans attended.

Though Eubank Jr. had a weight and height advantage and a record of smashing his
way to victory via knockout, he had problems hurting the quicker and more agile Benn.
And though Benn had the advantage of moving up two weight divisions and forcing
Eubank to fight under a catch weight, the move did not weaken him much.

Instead, British fans and boxing fans across the world saw the two family rivals pummel
each other for all 12 rounds. Neither was able to gain separation.

Eubank looked physically bigger and used a ramming left jab to connect early in the
fight. Benn immediately showed off his speed advantage and surprised many with his
ability to absorb a big blow.Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Benn scrambled around with his quickness and agility and scored often with bigcounters.

It took him a few rounds to stop overextending himself while delivering power shots.

In the third round Benn staggered Eubank with a left hook but was unable to follow up
against the dangerous middleweight who roared back with flurries of blows.

Eubank was methodic in his approach always moving forward, always using his weight
advantage via the shoulder to force Benn backward. The smaller Benn rocketed
overhand rights and was partly successful but not enough to force Eubank to retreat.
In the seventh round a right uppercut snapped Benn’s head violently but he was
undeterred from firing back. Benn’s chin stood firm despite Eubank’s vaunted power and
size advantage.

“I didn’t know he had that in him,” Eubank said.

Benn opened strong in the eighth round with furious blows. And though he connected
he was unable to seriously hurt Eubank. And despite being drained by the weight loss,
the middleweight fighter remained strong all 12 rounds.

There were surprises from both fighters.

Benn was effective targeting the body. Perhaps if he had worked the body earlier he
would have found a better result.

With only two rounds remaining Eubank snapped off a right uppercut again and followed
up with body shots. In the final stanza Eubank pressed forward and exchanged with the
smaller Benn until the final bell. He simply out-landed the fighter and impressed all three
judges who scored it 116-112 for Eubank.

Eubank admitted he expected a knockout win but was satisfied with the victory.
“I under-estimated him,” Eubank said.

Benn was upset by the loss but recognized the reasons.

“He worked harder toward the end,” said Benn.

McKenna Wins

In his first test in the elite level Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) showed his ability to fight
inside or out in soundly defeating former world champion Liam Smith (33-5-1, 20 KOs)
by unanimous decision to win a regional WBA middleweight title.

Smith has made a career out of upsetting young upstarts but discovered the Irish fighter
more than capable of mixing it up with the veteran. It was a rough fight throughout the
12 rounds but McKenna showed off his abilities to fight as a southpaw or right-hander
with nary a hiccup.

McKenna had trained in Southern California early in his career and since that time he’s
accrued a variety of ways to fight. He was smooth and relentless in using his longer
arms and agility against Smith on the outside or in close.

In the 12 th round, McKenna landed a perfectly timed left hook to the ribs and down went
Smith. The former champion got up and attempted to knock out the tall
Irish fighter but could not.

All three judges scored in favor of McKenna 119-108, 117-109, 118-108.

Other Bouts
Anthony Yarde (27-3) defeated Lyndon Arthur (24-3) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. in a light heavyweight match. It was the third time they met. Yarde won the last two fights.

Chris Billam-Smith (21-2) defeated Brandon Glanton (20-3) by decision. It was his first
fight since losing the WBO cruiserweight world title to Gilberto Ramirez last November.

Viddal Riley (13-0) out-worked Cheavon Clarke (10-2) in a 12-round back-and-forth-contest to win a unanimous decision.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 323: Benn vs Eubank Family Feud and More

Published

5 days ago

April 24, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective,-Chap.-323:-Benn-vs-Eubank-Family-Feud-and-More.jpg

Next generation rivals Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. carry on the family legacy of feudal warring in the prize ring on Saturday.

This is huge in British boxing.

Eubank (34-3, 25 KOs) holds the fringe IBO middleweight title but won’t be defending it against the smaller welterweight Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) on Saturday, April 26, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

This is about family pride.

The parents of Eubank and Benn actually began the feud in the 1990s.

Papa Nigel Benn fought Papa Chris Eubank twice. Losing as a middleweight in November 1990 at Birmingham, England, then fighting to a draw as a super middleweight in October 1993 in Manchester. Both were world title fights.

Eubank was undefeated and won the WBO middleweight world title in 1990 against Nigel Benn by knockout. He defended it three times before moving up and winning the vacant WBO super middleweight title in September 1991. He defended the super middleweight title 14 times before suffering his first pro defeat in March 1995 against Steve Collins.

Benn won the WBO middleweight title in April 1990 against Doug DeWitt and defended it once before losing to Eubank in November 1990. He moved up in weight and took the WBC super middleweight title from Mauro Galvano in Italy by technical knockout in October 1992. He defended the title nine times until losing in March 1996. His last fight was in November 1996, a loss to Steve Collins.

Animosity between the two families continues this weekend in the boxing ring.

Conor Benn, the son of Nigel, has fought mostly as a welterweight but lately has participated in the super welterweight division. He is several inches shorter in height than Eubank but has power and speed. Kind of a British version of Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

“It’s always personal, every opponent I fight is personal. People want to say it’s strictly business, but it’s never business. If someone is trying to put their hands on me, trying to render me unconscious, it’s never business,” said Benn.

This fight was scheduled twice before and cut short twice due to failed PED tests by Benn. The weight limit agreed upon is 160 pounds.

Eubank, a natural middleweight, has exchanged taunts with Benn for years. He recently avenged a loss to Liam Smith with a knockout victory in September 2023.

“This fight isn’t about size or weight. It’s about skill. It’s about dedication. It’s about expertise and all those areas in which I excel in,” said Eubank. “I have many, many more years of experience over Conor Benn, and that will be the deciding factor of the night.”

Because this fight was postponed twice, the animosity between the two feuding fighters has increased the attention of their fans. Both fighters are anxious to flatten each other.

“He’s another opponent in my way trying to crush my dreams. trying to take food off my plate and trying to render me unconscious. That’s how I look at him,” said Benn.

Eubank smiles.

“Whether it’s boxing, whether it’s a gun fight. Defense, offense, foot movement, speed, power. I am the superior boxer in each of those departments and so many more – which is why I’m so confident,” he said.

Supporting Bout

Former world champion Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) tangles with Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs) in a middleweight fight set for 12 rounds on the Benn-Eubank undercard in London.

“Beefy” Smith has long been known as one of the fighting Smith brothers and recently lost to Eubank a year and a half ago. It was only the second time in 38 bouts he had been stopped. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did it several years ago.

McKenna is a familiar name in Southern California. The Irish fighter fought numerous times on Golden Boy Promotion cards between 2017 and 2019 before returning to the United Kingdom and his assault on continuing the middleweight division. This is a big step for the tall Irish fighter.

It’s youth versus experience.

“I’ve been calling for big fights like this for the last two or three years, and it’s a fight I’m really excited for. I plan to make the most of it and make a statement win on Saturday night,” said McKenna, one of two fighting brothers.

Monster in L.A.

Japan’s super star Naoya “Monster” Inoue arrived in Los Angeles for last day workouts before his Las Vegas showdown against Ramon Cardenas on Sunday May 4, at T-Mobile Arena. ESPN will televise and stream the Top Rank card.

It’s been four years since the super bantamweight world champion performed in the US and during that time Naoya (29-0, 26 KOs) gathered world titles in different weight divisions. The Japanese slugger has also gained fame as perhaps the best fighter on the planet. Cardenas is 26-1 with 14 KOs.

Pomona Fights

Super featherweights Mathias Radcliffe (9-0-1) and Ezequiel Flores (6-4) lead a boxing card called “DMG Night of Champions” on Saturday April 26, at the historic Fox Theater in downtown Pomona, Calif.

Michaela Bracamontes (11-2-1) and Jesus Torres Beltran (8-4-1) will be fighting for a regional WBC super featherweight title. More than eight bouts are scheduled.

Doors open at 6 p.m. For ticket information go to: www.tix.com/dmgnightofchampions

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 9 a.m. Conor Benn (23-0) vs Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3); Liam Smith (33-4-1) vs Aaron McKenna (19-0).

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