Gennady “GGG” Golovkin Destroys Martin Murray – Boxing News

By Doctor Ibrahim Hussain

Martin Murray set off to Monte Carlo as the WBC Silver Champion after a training camp like no other he has experienced. He spent 5 weeks in South Africa, away from his family, in order to help his quest to gain the thrown that was rightfully his.

Murray had previously beaten Sergio Martinez, but the disgraceful decision left him without his crown. This came later in his career after previously securing a suspicious draw against Felix Sturm. So in effect, Gennady Golovkin was to face a tough, unbeaten opponent in front of Prince Albert and a standing room only crowd. Overtraining and elevating a fight mentally can be detrimental to a boxer, and the freeze can sometimes set in. But Murray showed maturity and professionalism in his execution of a game plan that gave Gennady Golovkin his toughest fight yet.

Into the first round Murray quickly showed he had a very specific game plan by neutralizing Golovkin’s jab with a rolling under and coming forward low forcing Golovkin back across the entire ring in some cases, as well as holding Golovkin and tying up his hands. It gave a surprisingly even first round. Going into the second Murray caught Golovkin with a number of sneaky right hands and body shots after Golovkin forced Murray onto the ropes, still tying Gennady’s hands at times who was now looking visibly more uncomfortable than the CCC (cool calm collect) we have come to expect from GGG. Early on, it was clear that this was not going to be an ordinary opponent, and Golovkin was not in his comfort zone despite not looking as though he would lose the battle at any stage in the fight.
Golovkin did connect with an uppercut that would have put many other fighters in the division on the canvas, but Murray took it well and carried on without any visible impairment to his tactics, and clearly not phased by what Golovkin was dishing out.

Going into the third round Murray had his characteristic tight defense and was circling the ring slowly to Golovkin’s right, gesturing him to come in, and signaling that he was unaffected by his shots, still taking the opportunity to tie Golovkin up, and always coming in close to neutralize the GGG Jab.

Certainly going into the last minute of the third round the fight was fairly even, and a blow out like the Geale fight did not seem forthcoming for Golovkin until he then caught Murray with a left hook as Murray was backing onto the ropes, which followed by an immediate onslaught. But Murray stayed up and again signaled no stress to GGG, and continued to neutralize the jab by coming in close while staying very low.

At this stage, 25 years on from the great Buster Douglas upset against Tyson, a similar outcome did not seem likely. Rather the Bruno vs Tyson first fight which showed the first chinks in the Tyson armory. Although Golovkin was not troubled by any of Murray’s clean shots, Murray did give a glimpse into what tactics are able to help blunt one of the many tools in the Golovkin workshop.

30 seconds into the fourth and Murray, on the ropes landed a straight left which jolted Golovkin’s head back, but Golovkin was simply walking through the shots and they did not stop him in his tracks or his fight plan, and he continued his forward march with a menacing stare before catching Murray in the solar plexus with a right, causing a delayed reaction from Murray bringing him to his knee.

Again dropping Murray moments later with a right hook to the kidney. Murray at this stage was not disorientated by any headshots, and he continued to buy time by tying Golovkin’s hands, which resulted in a warning from the referee.
Murray started the 5th with a tight guard; trying to keep distance from GGG and when they started to trade blows Murray again tied him up, with the ref warning Murray whose nose was now bloodied. Murray reverted back to his low advancement on GGG who was now having the fight taken to him in what seemed to be a possible turning point in the fight with the round closing with both fighters landing a right hook on each other.

The sixth round was more even, but it was now obvious going into the seventh that a points victory for Murray would be impossible. Murray landed a few good combinations, with his confidence growing, and seemingly the sting now reducing in Golovkin’s shots, although he was still stalking Murray, seemingly eager to finish business.

In the eighth Murray was again low, coming forward and more aggressive, but then was caught with some of the characteristic high hooks from Golovkin, leaving Murray standing taller, with a more open target for Golovkin to attack the bloody face of Murray.

Round nine was a cat and mouse with Golovkin still chasing on attack but with Murray fighting back off the ropes. Again showing promise in the tenth, Murray looked like there was a second wind in him, but GGG merely shook his head following the few clean shots that were landed before dropping Murray as he was pivoting away from the ropes and then getting caught in transit by Golovkin, although it had seemingly little brain-fuzzing effect as he got up, with GGG not looking at all happy.

Then the once seemingly inevitable happened early in the eleventh, with Murray getting caught off-guard standing tall on the ropes before the referee stepped in.

Thoughts on Murray after this fight is that he is definitely the second best Middleweight in the world, having just done better against the best middleweight in the world than anyone else has done before him, and took him to the 11th round for the first time in GGG career.
Murray is a fighter that the British should be proud of. He is a down to earth guy, no heirs, no graces, and a straight taking gentleman, despite his controversial past before winning the prizefighter title many years ago as an unknown.

GGG has a superhuman chin, probably the thickest whiskers in boxing. Murray may have shown how to neutralize the jab, but GGG has so many other tools. He is a former amateur World Champion who I had the pleasure of sparring with. His pedigree is that of a soviet block who has been let loose in the professional ranks. He has now cleaned up the division at middleweight, with few meaningful fights left for him.

Like Murray, whom without a belt no one will want to fight, Golovkin also has not much elsewhere to go. Maybe a mega fight with Andre Ward may be possible in the future? Lets hope so. But Andre Ward knows how to deal with these types of fighters, as he showed in a career defining fight against a former conqueror of myself, by beating Russian Legend Makarenko at the Athens Olympics.

Lets Hope Andre Ward and Golovkin meet in a more timely manner than Mayweather Pacquiao, and lets hope not everyone runs scarred of Martin Murray who has still been the victim of the great Argentine Robbery.