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Gennady “GGG” Golovkin: Is he All Hype, a Legend, or Something in the Middle?

Gennady “GGG” Golovkin: Is he All Hype, a Legend, or Something in the Middle?

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GGGBy “The Aficionado” Alan J. Kindred

33 year old Super World WBA, IBO, and Interim WBC Middleweight world champion, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, 33-0, 30 KO’s, has now been in the public eye for nearly 3 years now since his dynamite emergence on HBO against former European middleweight champion Grzegorz Proksa, in what was his 5th defense of his WBA middleweight world championship. Since that time he has racked up 9 more for a total of 14 successive defenses of his world championship, all by stoppage victory. Including his title wining effort he is 15-0, 15 KO’s in world title fights. His reign is one of the most impressive in middleweight history when you look at these numbers. He has been a world champion now for almost 5 years, defeating world class notable fighters in defense of his world championship such as Kassim Ouma, Lajuan Simon, Gabriel Rosado, Matthew Macklin, Curtis Stevens, Daniel Geale, Marco Antonio Rubio, Martin Murray, and Willie Monroe, JR.

Detractors will point to the names on his resume and say he has not fought anyone of note. While it is true he has not fought a “super name” he has fought many world class fighters who he made look average. The fact that he hasn’t fought a big name opponent might not actually be his fault. There has been a long line of fighters who have chosen to avoid and duck the wrecking machine that is “GGG”. Before most of the world knew who Golovkin was, when he was just a contender, Felix Sturm became the first prominent fighter to duck Golovkin. In 2010, Golovkin was Sturm’s mandatory challenger, and Sturm was not eager to defend against the super threat he saw in Golovkin. Sturm was then somehow elevated to the “Super” WBA status while Golovkin would have to fight for the vacant “interim” and “regular” championships. Sturm would go on to avoid Golovkin for years until losing his world championship. Sturm was not the only champion to avoid Golovkin, he was just the first. Former lineal champion Sergio Martinez also avoided Golovkin like the plague for a great deal of time until losing to Miguel Cotto in a cash out fight. Miguel Cotto is now the lineal middleweight champion, and the continual ducking of Golovkin goes forward. Golovkin has been the number 1 contender for the lineal crown for over 3 years now sadly, and perhaps will never get a shot at the lineal crown due to fear and politics.

Some other fighters that are circling his radar that would qualify as “names” besides Cotto, are Canelo Alvarez, Andre Ward, and Carl Froch, although the latter two are a division above him currently. Alvarez has expressed a willingness to fight Golovkin, but also added that it would need to be “in the future” for whatever reason. Cotto states that Golovkin must wait his turn for whatever reason. Carl Froch has stated he would like to fight Golovkin, but is also pondering retirement. Froch also had this very interesting quote after watching one of Golovkin’s performances, “Just swerve Golovkin like the plague. He punches like a mule. I don’t need to be in with him. Dangerous fight.” – Carl Froch. Andre Ward perhaps the biggest threat to defeat Golovkin, in or around his weight class, has been battling inactivity, and trying to return his weight to an optimal level. Ward was the lineal 168 or Super Middleweight world champion for a number of years until his inactivity stripped him of his titles. He is now returning to activity in a catch weight fight at Light Heavyweight, and hinted Golovkin may need to come to 175 to fight him. So as you can see, it is almost comical to see all the difficulty surrounding Golovkin trying to land a marquee opponent, for whatever reason.

Is he all hype? The answer is definitely not. Is he a legend as some proclaim? The answer is we can’t be sure just yet. Objectively, it can be seen he is very good with exceptional power, but just how good he might be, isn’t known yet. He is putting up numbers that rival some of the best champions ever at middleweight such as Marvin Hagler, Carlos Monzon, and Bernard Hopkins. Again, detractors can point at the level of opposition and say it is mediocre, but is it really? When you compare it to these other legendary middleweight champions you will see some surprising similarities. Many lesser known, but good contenders, reside on their defense history, until a big name opponent, usually a smaller one coming up, gives them a shot at notoriety.

With Hagler, he worked hard as he racked up defenses, but failed to earn big time respect until Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, and Sugar Ray Leonard gave him the opportunity. With Hopkins, it is a very similar story, until Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya gave him the big opportunities. For Monzon, he had Jose Napoles and Emile Griffith. Golovkin may never get his smaller name fighters to try him and give him the opportunity. Canelo, Cotto, or Mayweather, JR. don’t seem very eager. It seems to be known, Golovkin isn’t worth the risk. Golovkin may have to take the harder road, and rather than fight smaller name fighters who move up to him, he may have to move up himself to seek out the larger names. Even if he were to lose to Ward in a super fight, that would only mean he might not be the legend some people thought he was, but it wouldn’t prove he was a hype job. Regardless or not if he struggles at 168, he would still be the most dominant 160 on the planet by a long shot.

What is next for Golovkin? While he waits for the result of Cotto vs Geale, Golovkin’s team ponders offers in the Super Middleweight division. The Golovkin vs Froch talks have seemed to quiet down some, while Froch considers whether he actually wants to fight or not. Golovkin’s team also is looking at newly crowned WBA 168 world champion Fedur Chudinov as a possible opponent. So it seems the reluctance of his 160 lbs contemporaries is forcing Golovkin and his team to look up at 168. Ward’s return fight should be interesting, and to know his intentions afterwards of returning to 168 or not. A Ward vs. Golovkin fight is among the biggest that can be made in the sport right now, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. A monkey wrench in the 168 plans however, could be if Geale were to defeat Cotto. Geale may finally be the fighter with the courage to risk the lineal title against Golovkin in a rematch, if he were to defeat Cotto. There are many possibilities for Golovkin, and as long as he maintains patience he will eventually land a big name opponent. At 33 years of age, how long can he be patient?

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