What Makes Gennady Golovkin Special

Published

10 years ago

October 14, 2014

It’s just about the most embarrassing thing that can happen when you have a phone interview with one of boxing’s biggest stars.

The call gets made. The interview begins.

And then the decrepit replacement phone you use (because you were dumb enough to jump into a swimming pool over the summer with your previous phone tucked into your pocket) doesn’t allow you to hear anything the fighter says.

“Hello Kelsey,” an ever-polite Gennady Golovkin said to me all three times the interview began. He remained just as polite after two stop-and-starts, the frantic finding of an alternate phone solution and the third-time’s-a-charm connection.

But Golovkin didn’t just seem polite. He seemed genuine about it. That’s a rarity in today’s world.

More applicable to what happens once the bell rings, when Golovkin hits somebody, they almost always fall down. That’s also a rarity. Golovkin has won 27 of this 30 fights by knockout, including the last 17. He not only knows how to punch with concussive force, but where and when to do so.

Golovkin is a knockout machine. But the 32-year-old from Kazakhstan doesn’t really know what to say if you ask him about it.

“It’s hard work every day in my gym,” said Golovkin. “It’s hard work. A long time ago, hard work every day.”

Golovkin’s work is paying off. He’s become one of HBO’s signature fighters, and appears to be on the verge of becoming one of boxing’s elite superstars. But what sets him apart from his competition? And how did his rise seem to come along so very fast quickly?

“It’s been a lot of work,” said K2 Promotions’ Tom Loeffler. “I call it a perfect storm in terms of the efforts on our side, the training on Abel Sanchez’s side and Gennady’s fighting style in the ring.”

Loeffler said Golovkin’s style has helped him both inside the ring against opponents and outside the ring with fight fans as well. Golovkin is an offensive force who is fun to watch fight.

“One unique quality Gennady has is his ability to cut off the ring and adapt to any style put in front of him,” said Loeffler.

Golovkin is an aggressive stalker with incredible power in both hands. He walks his opponents down as if they were his prey and disposes of them in due measure. Loeffler said it’s been difficult to get top-tier middleweights in the ring with Golovkin, despite his fighter holding the WBA and IBO middleweight title belts.

HBO Sports’ Vice President of Programming, Peter Nelson, put it most succinctly: “It’s not to say that any middleweight fighter is scared of a fight with Gennady Golovkin. It just seems like they don’t want to be there when it happens.”

Golovkin has come a long way in just two short years, but Loeffler believes it could have happened even faster had certain fighters been more willing to engage him than suggested by Nelson.

“Unfortunately, none of the big names were willing to get in the ring with him. It’d have been much easier had Sergio Martinez—when at that time he was considered the No. 1 middleweight—if he would have taken a fight with him. Or a different name like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. or Peter Quillin. We made a number of attempts at trying to get Quillin in the ring. I think it would have gone quicker had he gotten a bigger name to fight him. We’ve had to do it the hard way as far as keeping him active.”

Despite the difficulty in finding opponents, Golovkin has stayed active enough to fight his way into being one of the top budding stars in the sport. He fought four times in 2013 and his bout Saturday against Marco Antonio Rubio will be his third of 2014. Golovkin was scheduled to fight in April as well but the bout was cancelled due to the passing of his father.

“That’s the other unique quality about Golovkin. He wants to stay busy, unlike many champions who fight once or twice a year, Golovkin’s schedule is always for four fights a year. That’s also what made his rise possible in such a short period of time and without having a real A-side name on his record.”

HBO sure seems to like him. Nelson, said the growing mandate among fans to see him fight started because of his mysterious background.

“He’s always existed as a kind of myth,” said Nelson. “You take a look at a guy who had close to 400 amateur fights and lost almost none of them. And he wasn’t just winning the fights, but he was knocking out amateur fighters like Lucian Bute with head gear on. You take that kind of mystique and apply it to a professional career where he goes on these long knockout streaks…and everyone had heard a story or two about Gennady Golovkin…this is a kid who really earned his way.”

Nelson referenced rumored gym wars with Chavez, Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev as well as YouTube clips of Golovkin obliterating European fighters as key aspects of Golovkin’s mosaic of intrigue.

“So much of it starts with the press honestly. The mandate to see Gennady arose from the curiosity about his mystique and a desire to give the man an opportunity to see if he’s real. Everyone can relate to that. Everyone has had a moment in their life where all they wanted was an opportunity, and all they were asking for was someone to give it to them. And they knew that if they got it, they would make the most of it. Everyone can respect a man for whom it takes him nearly being 30 years old just to get the opportunity he’s wanted. That’s a relatable experience in any language and any culture.”

After some early-career promotional struggles in Germany with his previous promoter, Universum, Golovkin found his way to Loeffler and K2. Loeffler said his team’s commitment to Golovkin was making him into a global star, something they believed would necessitate bringing their fighter to the United States in order to achieve.

“Fighting in the U.S. is very important for me,” said Golovkin. “It’s my dream. For my fans, for my family and for my team of course. This is my life.”

But the knock on Golovkin has less to do with his age or even what he displays inside the ring when the bell rings and more with his lack of elite dance partners, willing or otherwise.

Boxing writer Bart Barry of 15Rounds.com told me he’s not buying the idea that Golovkin could become one of the best middleweights ever, something bandied about frequently via social media.

“I would say it is almost a mathematical impossibility for Golovkin to become an all-time great at middleweight,” said Barry. “Marvelous Marvin Hagler was not even a year older than Golovkin is right now when Hagler retired as an all-time great…Before we even consider using a word like ‘great,’ we have to look at fights a man has won against other greats. A prime Bernard Hopkins could have beaten Golovkin’s last three opponents in a handicap match with all three in the ring at the same time.”

Barry also believes at least some of the mystique around Golovkin has to do with his complexion.

“He’s an offensive force, and he’s fighting in a remarkably poor era. Just as importantly, white Americans – who compose the majority in our country, and the vast majority of boxing writers – identify with him in a way they do not identify with Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao or Bernard Hopkins. He may not speak English well, but in appearance and demeanor he otherwise reminds us of ourselves, and boxing has always been more honest about ethnic identification than America at large.”

Regardless, Loeffler said he expects Golovkin to become the premier fighter in the sport. In other words, Loeffler believes Golovkin will take over the mantle from Floyd Mayweather within the next couple of years, whether the latter takes a fight against him or not.

“I think that’s his destiny. I think he has that rare combination of not only being the best fighter but also being perceived as the most exciting fighter. Not since Mike Tyson have you seen that. I think Golovkin, after next year, will rise to tops of pound-for-pound lists. He’s even willing to go outside of the division for big fights.”

Loeffler said fans enjoy Golovkin’s ability to end fights with his fists as much as any other quality he might possess, something increasingly important in the age of bogus boxing judges and controversial decisions.

“There’s never a controversial ending to Golovkin’s fights,” said Loeffler.

Moreover, Loeffler said he expects Golovkin to finally get his chance against top-tier boxing stars next year. He said HBO’s financial commitment to Golovkin was substantial enough now that it would help GGG secure bouts against the likes of Chavez, Cotto and/or Canelo Alvarez. Moreover, Loeffler mentioned possible showdowns against Carl Froch and Andre Ward at 168.

HBO Sports’ Senior Vice President of Operations and Pay-per-view, Mark Taffet, indicated that Golovkin might just be the right man for the right moment in time.

“Inside the ring, he has tremendous knockout power,” said Taffet. “It’s the attribute by which he’s identified most. And it’s an incredibly fan-friendly attribute.”

Perhaps equally fan-friendly is that Golovkin and his team seem whole-heartedly engaged in putting him into the ring with anyone between 154 and 168 pounds. Loeffler said as much, and Golovkin himself brought up Cotto, Chavez and Alvarez by name as 2015 targets without even being asked about it. That’s a quality that a PPV guru like Taffet can really get behind.

“He’s willing to fight anybody,” said Taffet. “Not only is he a great middleweight champion, but he can fight anywhere from 154 to 168 pounds. He’s said numerous times he’s willing to fight anyone in those weight classes. Fans love that.”

Taffet called Golovkin part of the foundation of HBO’s boxing programming “for years to come,” and said Golovkin seemed poised to become one of boxing’s biggest stars. He said a proposed bout against Chavez earlier this year fell through on the Chavez side and would have been Golovkin’s first appearance on HBO PPV.

Still, Golovkin’s future appears bright.

“He’s fighting often and regularly on the HBO service,” said Taffet. “So he’s on boxing’s No. 1 television platform to the largest and broadest audience possible at the most important developmental stage of his career. His style appeals to fans in the same way Manny Pacquiao’s style appealed to fans early on through his fights with Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales. Gennady has that same universal appear in the ring.”

Heck, even one of Golovkin’s biggest critics believes the fighter is on his way to becoming a big deal.

“I believe he already is among boxing’s biggest stars,” said Barry. “HBO has thrown the weight of its diminished credibility behind him, and with the dearth of talent in prizefighting today, and the disproportionate exuberance that adheres to his every accomplishment, there’s no reason to believe he will not ascend to an outsized stardom–at least until he encounters Andre Ward.”

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Kelsey McCarson

Ramon Cardenas Channels Micky Ward and KOs Eduardo Ramirez on ProBox

Published

4 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Ramon-Cardenas-Channels-Micky-Ward-and-KOs-Eduardo-Ramirez-on-ProBox

The Wednesday night bi-monthly series of fights on the ProBox TV platform is the best deal in boxing; the livestream is free with no strings attached! Tonight’s episode was headlined by a super bantamweight match between San Antonio’s Ramon Cardenas and Eduardo Ramirez who brought a caravan of rooters from his hometown in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

Cardenas, coached by Joel Diaz, entered the contest ranked #4 by the WBA. He was expected to handle Ramirez with little difficulty, but this was a close, tactical fight through eight frames when lightning struck in the form of a left hook to liver the from Cardenas. Ramirez went down on one knee and wasn’t able to beat the count. It was as if Cardenas summoned the ghost of Micky Ward who had a penchant for terminating fights with the same punch that arrived out of the blue.

The official time was 1:37 of round time. Cardenas improved to 25-1 with his14th win inside the distance. Ramirez, who was stopped in the opening round by Nick “Wrecking” Ball in London in his lone previous fight outside Mexico, falls to 23-3-3.

Co-Feature

In an upset, Tijuana super welterweight Damian Sosa won a split decision over previously undefeated Marques Valle, a local area fighter who was stepping up in class in his first 10-round go. Sosa was the aggressor, repeatedly backing his taller opponent into the ropes where Valle was unable to get good leverage behind his punches.

The 25-year-old Valle, managed by the influential David McWater, was the house fighter. This was his 10^th appearance in this building. He brought a 10-0 (7) record and was hoping to emulate the success of his younger brother Dominic Valle who scored a second-round stoppage of his opponent in this ring two weeks ago, improving to 9-0. But Sosa, who brought a 24-2 record, proved to be a bridge too high.

The judges had it 97-93 and 96-94 for the Tijuana invader and a disgraceful 98-92 for the house fighter.

Also

In a fight whose abrupt ending would be echoed by the main event, 34-year-old SoCal featherweight Ronny Rios, now training in Las Vegas, returned to the ring after a 22-month hiatus and scored a fifth-round stoppage over Nicolas Polanco of the Dominican Republic.

A three-punch combo climaxed by a left hook to the liver took the breath out of Polanco who slumped to his knees and was counted out. A two-time world title challenger, Rios advanced to 34-4 (17 KOs). Polanco, 34, declined to 21-6-1. The official time was 0:54 of round five.

—

The next ProBox show (Wednesday, May 8) will have an international cast with fighters from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom. In the main event, Liverpool’s Robbie Davies Jr will make his U.S. debut against the California-based Kazakh Sergey Lipinets.

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Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

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In a Shocker, Ryan Garcia Confounds the Experts and Upsets Devin Haney

Published

4 days ago

April 21, 2024

David A. Avila

In-a-Shocker-Ryan-Garcia-Confounds-the-Experts-and-Upsets-Devin-Haney

Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia knocked down WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney three times to remind everyone of his fighting abilities in winning by majority decision on Saturday.

“I just knew what I could do,” Garcia said.

Fans will not forget the lanky kid from Victorville, California now.

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) fooled everyone in playing crazy weeks before the fight, then showed shocking power to hand Haney (30-1, 15 KOs) his first loss as a professional at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Haney’s WBC super lightweight title was not at stake for Garcia because he weighed three pounds over the limit.

After Garcia seemingly acting out of control on social media, Haney’s guard must have slipped in the first round during the first few seconds as Garcia connected with that hellish left hook and Haney, with a look of shock in his eyes, almost went down. He barely survived the first round.

“He caught me with it,” said Haney.

During the next few rounds, Haney proceeded to advance toward Garcia seemingly fully aware of the lethal left hook. He used feints and rights to score with a busier approach as Garcia seemed cocked and ready to counter with a left hook.

In the fourth round it seemed Haney was confident he had regained control of the fight, but every time he opened up with more than a two-punch combination Garcia reminded him whose hands were faster and more dangerous.

Though Garcia seldom jabbed he seemed bent on looking for the right moment to unleash his deadly left hook. And every time the Southern California fighter opened up with a combination he scored and Haney dare not exchange.

A few times Haney smiled as if signifying he escaped.

In the seventh round Haney looked to punish Garcia’s body and instead was met with a three-punch combination included a left hook to the chin and down went Haney slumped on the ground. He managed to beat the count and as soon as Garcia came within reach Haney wrapped his arms around him with a python grip. Despite the warnings by referee Harvey Dock, the fallen fighter would not release and Garcia impatiently fired a weak punch during the break. The referee deducted a point from Garcia though he could have deducted a point from Haney for not obeying his instructions to release his hold. Haney actually went down three times in the round but only one was counted by the referee.

From that point on Haney was very cautious but still looking to win by decision.

Though Garcia kept using a shoulder-roll defense that left his body exposed, he would retaliate with three and four punch combinations that usually Haney could defend against other fighters.. But Garcia’s blazing combinations were too fast to defend.

In the 10^th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garcia’s right and a blinding left hook to the chin and another two blows that sent the former undisputed lightweight champion to the floor again.

It didn’t look good for Haney to survive.

Garcia walked into the 11^th round still composed and never out-of-control He dared Haney to exchange and when within striking distance Garcia unleashed another lightning combination and down went Haney again with a defeated look.

Both fighters had fought each other as amateurs six times so there were no surprises between them. But Garcia’s power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.

In the final round both were cautious with Garcia’s combination punching proving too dangerous for Haney to open up. Garcia celebrated early as the round ended confident of victory.

After 12 rounds Garcia was seen the victor by majority decision 112-112, 114-110, 115-109.

“You really thought I was crazy,” Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. “You guys hated on me.”

Other Bouts

Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdom’s Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McComb’s long reach and busy southpaw style gave Barboza trouble. But he managed to win the fight though the crowd was not pleased.

Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated France’s Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1) by technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut on his eye from an accidental head butt. It was a very competitive super middleweight fight.

Costa Rica’s David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John “Scrappy Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round scrap to upset the Los Angeles based fighter. After a few close rounds Jimenez simply bullied his way inside and forced Ramirez against the ropes and unloaded his guns.

After 12 rounds two judges saw it 117-111 and 116-114 all for Jimenez.

“I’m a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,” said Jimenez. “My corner told me I had to work inside.”

Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stepped on the gas early with vicious body shots and uppercuts and blasted through the resilient Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) for several rounds. After a brutal fifth and sixth round the referee halted the one-side beating in favor of Conwell who was fighting for the first time under the Golden Boy banner.

Another winner was Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5) by decision over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1) in a super middleweight match.

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