Gennady “GGG” Golovkin & This Weekend in Boxing
By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart
Leeds does not attract many admiring glances but last Saturday it brought the might of Sky broadcasting down with a bill that was fit to grace any Kingly feast. Prince amongst those pugilist warriors was the man in whose town we gathered to celebrate – Josh Warrington, 23-0, 4 KO’s. Last week I thought he was going to get the win against Hisashi Amagasa, 30-6-2, 20 KO’s to retain his WBC featherweight international belt and get it he did.
I believed it was going to be tricky and Warrington had to dig deep for the full 12 rounds before being declared the winner. Warrington was not slow, after his performance, to call out the Welsh IBF featherweight champion Lee Selby, 23-1, 8 KO’s; Selby was in the studio and just unimpressed.
Warrington, despite being cheered on by some of the craziest and enthusiastic fans on the planet, managed to win convincingly. His performance though, was not enough to get Selby’s juices flowing. Declaring the performance well below world level, Selby was dismissive. Warrington had already mentioned in the post fight press conference that he needed to work on a few things before he took that step as an undefeated fighter, onto the word stage but there is no doubt that he has taken a massive step towards it.
A domestic world title fight with Selby makes a lot of economic sense and that is one language that all fighters and promoters talk. Selby/Warrington would pitch the hardy valleys of Wales against the industrial north of Yorkshire. It would make for a fascinating contest and we can see this happening in 2016 or 2017.
This weekend is a massive one for the future of boxing as Gennady Golovkin, 34-0, 31 KOs is back in the ring, this time against Dominic Wade, 18-0, 12 KO’s. This is a fight that opens doors and should make things happen with the likes of the winner of Saul Canelo Alvarez, 46-1-1, 32 KO’s and Amir Khan 31-3, 19 KO’s, being touted as the next likely opponent… for Golovkin.
And therein lies the danger. The unbeaten IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champ claims he is not looking beyond Wade and he mustn’t be… This is a decent fight, pitching Golovkin in against a young and upcoming fighter in Wade. The result will tell whether it was a man against a boy or what but it has sparked plenty of interest over here. Due to take place on Saturday the 23rd in Inglewood, California, Khan will be tuning in, as will Billy Joe Saunders, 23 -0, 12 KO’s, George Groves 23-3, 18 KO’s and James DeGale, 22-1, 14 KO’s.
Also with a keen eye on the fight is the father and son that make up “The Eubanks”. Chris Eubank, JR., 22-1, 17 KO’s was mentioned by his father as the guy who could take on triple G and beat him with ease. A cup of what that man is on please…
Whilst we know all about the power that is Golovkin, little is really known about Wade. It is this air of mystery that is perhaps holding us back from being overly enthusiastic about it all but you know what – it’s triple G! We can get very enthusiastic about him.
The WBC are less than enthusiastic about him as they let Miguel Cotto slip past him and when he was supposed to get it on with Golovkin late last year and now Canelo is on a voluntary defence rather than face him now!
Golovkin is now face to face with a likeable young lad in Wade with the possibility that Golovkin is simply going to bulldoze through him. It shall be testimony to his opponent if the inevitable is stopped for longer than a few rounds. Wade has no one of significance on his record and whilst undefeated he lacks the experience against which he is up against.
Last time out Wade lost and lost heavily though many questioned if the judges were there or on the can all the time as the result was very wide – the contest wasn’t. Rest assured there shall be sharp eyed judges all over this fight and I reckon we shall, once again, be marvelling at the power and circumstance that is Gennady Golovkin. I don’t see it going the distance but could get to the middle rounds. #andstill…
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