Golovkin Is Too Strong For Any Current Middleweight To Outbox

Published

8 years ago

May 18, 2015

This past weekend, WBA/WBC middleweight title holder Gennady Golovkin 33-0 (30) stopped Willie Monroe Jr. 19-2 (6) in the sixth round.

Golovkin had Monroe down three times during the action packed and fan friendly bout. The match-up offered contrasting styles between Golovkin the “attacker” and Monroe the “boxer/stylist.” Both fighters held form stylistically, as Golovkin pressed the fight and Monroe tried to move and box with the intent of not getting cornered or trapped with his back to the ropes. And for almost two rounds Monroe was treading water. He was losing because Gennady was making the fight, but he wasn’t getting steamrolled.

Then the damn started to crack as it had been the case for Golovkin’s previous 32 opponents. The strain of trying to move, punch and keep himself from being beat down becomes too taxing.

Eventually they get to the point to where fighting him is the lesser evil both physically and mentally than trying to run and survive. And that was the predicament Monroe found himself in before the end of the second round. So Willie sucked it up and basically said to himself, “I’d rather get knocked out trying to win than kill myself trying to survive and maybe go the distance.” So he held his ground and nailed Golovkin with some beautiful shots with his feet planted on the canvas, and actually got GGG’s attention. And therein was the problem, getting his attention led Gennady to escalate his attack and soon Monroe was fighting to buy time and looking to make it through the round. Once that transpired the end was a foregone conclusion and less than a minute into the sixth round Monroe was spent and decided to spare himself further punishment and live to fight another day. This was the smart thing to do. His stock has no doubt risen despite coming up short and going down three times against the most formidable and dangerous punching middleweight in the world. Because it is he who gave Golovkin the toughest fight of his career and even had him a little marked up under both eyes when the fight was over.

As for Golovkin, some may try and sound cute and philosophical stating their case pertaining to what he is as a fighter. That’s not my style, so here’s the deal. Gennady Golovkin is physically too strong for any current middleweight to box and/or hold off. To beat him it will take a fighter who can either turn his aggression against him, like perhaps Andre Ward – or a fighter who can make him fight on his back foot or make him pay for bringing the heat. As of this writing that fighter does not exist in the middleweight division.

No, Golovkin is not unbeatable and is not without a few wrinkles in his game. The problem is, his abundance of strength, power and the ability to cut off the ring are just too overwhelming for anybody campaigning at his weight. Yes, he’s hittable because he’s right there always looking to land the money shot, and all fighters with that mindset are reachable, that comes with the territory. It’s just in his case, one of his shots does more damage and influences the fight more than two or three of his opponents…at least up to this point. The only thing negative one can draw from Gennady’s showing against Monroe that hasn’t been touched on is how hard he was breathing after the fourth and fifth rounds. This is the first time I’ve seen him a little winded, although it’s also the first time he’s really been pushed by an opponent and had to fight with a sense of urgency.

Golovkin thrilled the 12,732 fans in attendance and has really built up a tremendous following in less than three years. The anticipation for a future bout with junior middleweight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or lineal middleweight champ Miguel Cotto has already begun. It’s doubtful that he’ll end up fighting both because if Alvarez and Cotto are smart, they’ll fight each other first with the winner looking towards Golovkin afterwards. Which if that happens the fight we’ll most likely see is Golovkin-Alvarez, which would no doubt be the better fight because Canelo has some tools that he could apply against Gennady, especially fighting on the inside. Whereas Cotto would go into the fight without one discernible tool or weapon to give him even a hope to derail GGG. And there’s also the elite fighter at super-middleweight, Andre Ward, down the road for the ultimate showdown as Golovkin mentioned at center ring after beating Monroe, assuming Ward gets his career back on track and becomes active again.

“I stay here. I am the real champion,” Golovkin said. “I want unification. Let’s go, let’s do it guys. Who is No. 1 right now? Bring it on. I will show you.”

That’s right, like former middleweight greats Carlos Monzon and Marvin Hagler, Golovkin is a natural middleweight and that’s where he should stay and let the big fights come to him. Monzon and Hagler cleaned out the middleweight division during their title tenure circa 1970-77 for Monzon and 1980-87 for Hagler and everybody enjoyed watching their fights. Yes, both defended their title against former welterweight and junior middleweight title holders but, neither Carlos nor Marvin ever went down or fought a gimmick catch-weight bout. Sure, Monzon fought Emile Griffith and Jose Napoles and Hagler fought Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard, but as middleweights, because all four wanted the middleweight title they held.

Well, the same should hold serve with Golovkin regardless of who the opponent is. After seeing Gennady get winded against Monroe, I think he’d be a fool to agree to fight Mayweather at a catch-weight of 154 with his middleweight belts on the line. If Mayweather wants to really prove he’s half the fighter he thinks he is, fight Golovkin at 160 and for once take a legitimate risk. Believe me if he wins he’ll get his just due for it. However, bringing Golovkin down to 154 would weaken Gennady, in spite of what he and his team say about him making 154. Believe me, if he could make 154 without being compromised, that is where he would be fighting.

The sport of boxing has opened its arms to Gennady Golovkin because he is a real fighter and delivers action packed bouts every time out. Hopefully his arrival will swing the pendulum back to the era when the best fought the best and high profile bouts ended via stoppage as opposed to boring decisions where everybody argues over who really won for the next month. Gennady is just too strong for any active middleweight to hold off and attempt to box, which all but insures his bouts will always at some point become a fight, and that’s what fans want to see.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Frank Lotierzo

Avila Perspective, Chap. 254: Canelo vs Jermell Charlo in a Battle of Undisputed Champions

Published

11 hours ago

September 29, 2023

David A. Avila

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LAS VEGAS-Less than the usual massive crowd gathered for boxing kingpin Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Jermell Charlo in the desert heat outside of the T-Mobile Arena on Friday afternoon. Usually the weigh-ins are slightly bigger for Mexico’s idol.

Is the declining crowd an indicator of Alvarez fans ebbing belief in his abilities?

Still, on Saturday night, two undisputed world champions from differing divisions will collide as Guadalajara, Mexico’s Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) meets Houston’s Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena for the super middleweight world championship. PPV.Com will stream the clash of champions.

This year has seen a hyper-speed uptick in champions fighting other champions, perhaps the result of watching their female counterparts Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor produce the biggest fight of 2022. This year several marquee collisions were spawned from lightweights to heavyweights.

Or maybe the pandemic lull created a twitch panic among the elite.

Charlo was one of those who had been sidelined while others like Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Naoya “Monster” Inoue and Canelo Alvarez filled their pockets with cash. And others like Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez gained undisputed glory.

Instead of watching on the sidelines, Charlo decided to make his move for greater glory by attempting to dethrone one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, if not the kingpin of boxing when it comes to money.

“If I accomplish this massive goal, it will be hard to top,” Charlo said a few weeks ago during his media workout. “I’ll be in the record book with the greats of boxing for a long time.”

Risks brings rewards.

Canelo, long a member of the boxing elite, has held his position as the box office king for many years now by taking the daunting risks throughout his boxing life.

“Jermell is right, I have nothing to prove. But this time I have something to prove to him,” said Alvarez while in Las Vegas on Wednesday. “He never believed in my skills. He’s been calling me out. Now I have an opportunity to show him my skills.”

Undisputed super welterweight will challenge undisputed super middleweight in a two-division jump not often seen, except for Henry Armstrong, Roberto Duran and Sugar Shane Mosley. It’s the road taken by those who seek to be great.

Both are 33 but the redhead Alvarez has been fighting professionally since he was 15. That’s a lot of bullets in the chamber he has already used. Charlo has height, speed and the ability to adapt to different styles. Stylistically, it’s a battle that makes even the skeptics take pause.

It all depends on Alvarez’s resiliency. Charlo has ring rust, while Alvarez seemingly has lost the hunger. Whose weakness will prove the greater?

“Now is the time for this fight. We’re in our primes and at our best,” said Charlo. “I wanna shake the doubters off and prove to the world why I”m in this position. There’s a reason I made it this far.”

Alvarez remembers being as hungry as Charlo.

“I never overlook any fighter,” Alvarez said. “I know what he’s going to bring and I’m ready.”

Undercard

Several other notable bouts are included on the pay-per-view card.

Former world titlists and current welterweight contenders Yordenis Ugas (27-5) and Mario Barrios (27-2) battle for an interim title set for 12 rounds.

Super welterweights Jesus Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs) and Erickson Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs) match skills in a match that pits a southpaw veteran against an undefeated southpaw from Arizona. For the past three years Ramos has been moving up the ladder and was last seen pounding out highly-touted Joey Spencer. Can he survive Lubin who nearly toppled Sebastian Fundora?

Doors open at T-Mobile Arena at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.

Lampley is back

Legendary HBO announcer Jim Lampley was hired along with ace reporter Lance Pugmire who will co-host the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez versus Jermell Charlo showdown via viewer chat live on PPV.com.

It’s the same concept used by Monday Night Football that features former quarterback greats Peyton Manning and Eli Manning in alternative programming.

Lampley returns to boxing after a five-year absence following HBO’s yanking of the popular program that vaulted elite boxing to the top behind the likes of George Foreman, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.

The veteran announcer will be live streaming all the action on media platforms before and during the fight action. He was sorely missed by all who follow the sweet science.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk a Go for Saudi Arabia: Date TBA

Published

18 hours ago

September 29, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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It is now official. Representatives of WBC and Lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and WBO/WBA/IBF title-holder Oleksandr Usyk have come to terms. The Fury-Usyk fight will be staged at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on a date to be determined. (Speculation centers around Dec. 23.)

Fury vs Usyk is the latest addition to Riyadh Season, a months-long, state-sponsored, city-wide entertainment and sports festival that commences this year on Oct. 28 with the fight between Tyson Fury and MMA star Francis Ngannou serving as the centerpiece of the grand opening ceremony.

A point that will be central to the pre-fight hype is that more than three decades have passed since boxing had a unified heavyweight champion. The last man to be recognized as such was Lennox Lewis who unified the title in November of 1999 when he won a unanimous decision over Evander Holyfield at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Lewis entered the contest sporting the WBC belt whereas Holyfield held the WBA and IBF diadems.

As noted in boxrec, the vacant IBO heavyweight title was also at stake, a fact acknowledged in most British pre- and post-fight reports, but largely omitted from stories in American papers. As for the WBO, which was born the same year as the Florida-based IBO and came to leapfrog past it in credibility, it was out of the loop. Their heavyweight champion was Vitali Klitschko who had won the belt from Herbie Hyde.

The Lewis-Holyfield fight in Las Vegas was a rematch. They had fought eight months earlier at Madison Square Garden. That fight was ruled a draw, a decision deemed so unjust to Lennox Lewis that it spawned a federal investigation.

The tentative Dec. 23 date for Fury-Usyk would be a quick turnaround for the Gypsy King but would give him two months to heal in the event that he emerges from his non-title fight with Ngannou with a facial cut or another issue requiring medical attention. As noted in a story in the London Mirror, the date of Dec. 23 has also been bandied about as the likely date for the resurrection of the aborted fight between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn. Something would have to give and it wouldn’t be Fury-Usyk.

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Atlantic City Welcomes the 7th Annual Boxing Hall of Fame Weekend

Published

2 days ago

September 28, 2023

Luis A. Cortes III

Atlantic-City-Welcomes-the-7th-Annual-Boxing-Hall-of-Fame-Weekend

While the world of boxing will be focused on Las Vegas and the mega showdown between two undisputed champions, across the country Atlantic City will play host to the seventh annual Hall-of-Fame Induction Weekend. This year’s festivities are highlighted by the celebration of heavyweight boxers that once helped make Atlantic City the leading destination for “big time” fights. At the top of this year’s class are names like George Foreman, David Tua, Shannon Briggs, and Pinklon Thomas. With names like these, it’s easy to understand why this year’s Induction Weekend, now a staple of the city’s entertainment calendar, figures to be the best ever.

Ray McCline, a lifelong boxing fan, is the brainchild behind the event which has matured beyond the infancy stage. For McCline (himself a 2022 inductee into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame), creating an entire weekend around the sport in a way that could also benefit the city financially was a no-brainer.

“It’s great to see what this weekend has become. It’s been a long road from the original idea, but with great support and partnerships, it’s been possible,” states McCline.

In the past the ACBHOF has had to be as nimble as some of the fighters that they’ve honored to continue making sure the weekend wasn’t lost in the shadows of a city that has dealt with economic struggles. McCline and his staff at the ACBHOF have done an excellent job integrating the history of boxing with the history of Atlantic City. They’ve done this by offering fans the opportunity to spend more than just one evening immersed in the culture of the sport.

“It continues to grow and get better and that’s what it’s all about; making this the type of weekend that boxing fans mark on their calendars each year. This year we’re fortunate to partner with Hard Hitting Promotions to provide a great night of live professional boxing for fans as well,” says McCline. It’s the type of addition to an already full weekend schedule that only strengthens the ACBHOF brand.

A partnership with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino has also been a key to recent enhancements for the weekend of events.

After years of having to adapt the schedule to the schedules of their host properties, having this partnership with Hard Rock has allowed for the ACBHOF to lock in the final weekend of September or first weekend of October which is important because it allows fans to plan out their post summer and pre-holiday schedules without having to skip their trip to Atlantic City. “A major bonus,” says McCline. “It was one of the major hurdles that we had to jump over. Integrating Hard Rock and their established relationships in the world of entertainment only benefits both parties.”

It’s a fact that isn’t lost when you see crowds of concert-goers and people arriving in the city for other events enter the Free Fan Expo that takes place prior to the award ceremony.

Which brings us to this year’s schedule of events. Tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 29) will be the customary V.I.P opening cocktail reception followed by the live fights at Bally’s Casino. On Saturday at Hard Rock is the free Fight Fan Experience which allows fans to interact with legends of the sport from the past and fighters of today and tomorrow. During the evening hours. the actual awards and induction ceremony will take place at the Hard Rock. The weekend activities culminate in a legends brunch on Sunday morning at the Blue Water Grille at the Flagship Hotel.

What’s going on in Las Vegas isn’t lost on McCline. “This year is going to be great for those attending the induction ceremony at the V.I.P. level. We were able to set up our post ceremony cocktail reception in conjunction with showing the Canelo-Charlo fight. At the end of the day, we’re all fans of the sport so why miss a historic fight?”

Just listening to the joy that springs from the voice of Ray McCline when discussing both this year’s event and plans for the future is refreshing, especially when one considers all of the roadblocks that he’s overcome to bring his vision to reality in the form of a full weekend of celebration.

Note: The main event of the boxing show on Friday is a 10-round contest between super lightweights Branden Pizarro (18-1-1) and Esteban Garcia (16-2). For more information on event tickets, room reservations, and weekend schedules, visit the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame website at: www.acbhof.com

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