Vinny’s Views: Gennady Golovkin Vs Vanes Martirosyn – The Facts, The Stats & The Fight Prediction Is In!
By Vinny “Glory Days” Lucci
There’s a silent metaphoric joy that transforms grimaces to smiles whenever you pass that pain in the ass in front of you hogging the left lane as you see them fade from view in rear view mirror. Right about now world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin must be smiling a sheepish satisfactory smile from ear to ear. After hogging the limelight and trash talking for years Canelo Alvarez and his carefully orchestrated career are now in frantic catch up mode with his recent suspension for twice failing doping tests for steroids. It’s my advice to Abel Sanchez, Golovkin’s manager and trainer to keep moving and let go of the past because it simply has nothing new to tell.
The Event:
On May 5 Gennady Golovkin proudly steps back into the ring making his 20th middleweight title defense against Vanes Martirosyn, who will be stepping in for disgraced Alvarez keeping the date and promotion alive. Stub Hub Center in Carson California will host the venue promoted by Tom Loeffler of GGG Promotions in association with Don King Productions. The title match will be televised by HBO, instead of originally planned HBO PPV. At stake are Golovkin’s WBA (super), WBC, and needless IBO belts. As of this writing the IBF title which Gennady owns will not be up for grabs allowing their number one ranked contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko to remain next in line to challenge for mandatory shot.
The Stats:
Needing no introduction worldwide Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin is a Kazakhstani who now makes Santa Monica California his home. Standing 5’10” with a 70” reach the undefeated champion boasts an impressive unbeaten record of 37-0-1, 33 KO’s. His 89.8 KO percentage is highest in middleweight history. Having recently turned 36 the orthodox power puncher may be slightly past his prime giving odds makers more to ponder his chances against a suddenly eager line up of contenders as he finishes up the proverbial “back 9” on his career.
Vanes Martirosyn is an Armenian from Abovyan, Armenia who now resides in Glendale California. He stands 5’ 11 ½” with a 70” wingspan. It is highly questionable as to whether the relatively young Vanes is past his peak at 31 after a two year layoff. His ledger stands at 36-3-1, 21 KO’s but is misleading having added those loses and draw whenever he stepped up to fight Jr. Middleweight division’s best. The long time contender who turned pro 13 years ago will be debuting at 160 lbs. His ring robe has the moniker “The Nightmare” emblazed on its back but the reference is to his herky jerky difficult style not his power or precision in combat.
Last Fight:
Canelo Alvarez finally stepped up after promising the world a Mexican showdown referring to Golovkin’s desired style to meet head on in ring center for ownership of real estate as well as titles. The three year wait was anything but what both media and fans expected as Canelo uncharacteristically got off his flat feet and refused to plant them longer than a counter combination would allow. The mega-match was a PPV extravaganza held at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise Nevada where a pathetic draw was rendered. Ringside Report had Golovkin winning no less than 9 rounds. The official scores were 115-113 Gennady, 114-114, and a mind boggling 118-110 scorecard for Alvarez in which the inept judge was temporarily suspended. (Allowing Adelaide Byrd anywhere near a professional score card is an invitation to disaster) Naturally just like the Marvin Hagler Vs Ray Leonard controversial scoring of 1987, if you went into your seat before the bout started rooting for Leonard, you left the same way. Ditto Hagler. Fans of this bout refused to budge from idol worship, and stuck to their guns that their hero won. Media covering the event overwhelming gave Gennady the edge on points by 2/3 rounds. Punch stat had Golovkin landing 218 out of 703 thrown while being the aggressor for all 12 rounds with Alvarez landing only 169 of 505 thrown.
Vanes last fought two weeks shy of two years ago in Vegas. That is an awfully long time to be out of action for a boxer. If you’re a regular reader of this column you know how strongly Ringside Report is a staunch advocate of boxers who suffer a traumatic knockout or beating in the ring to take a year off, not as a suspension but rather a health precaution. Martiroysn endured no such travesty and accounted himself well against Erislandy Lara losing a UD for WBA Junior middleweight title. While a year away from ring wars gives the body ample time to heal mind, body and soul; two years adds tedium and rust. The greatest attribute of ring rust is loss of timing in which it is highly recommended after such long spans of inactivity a couple of comeback bouts. Taking on a beast like Gennady in a title fight is “fool’s folly” on paper.
Styles:
GGG is a tactical pressure fighter who walks his man down cutting off the ring and setting traps to unleash two fisted flurries. He is flat footed but often comes up on toes when throwing combinations. Gennady has power in either hand and owns the best chin in boxing. His uppercut is among the elite.
Vanes is a slender boxer whose technique is reminiscent of an awkward European boxer who stands straight up behind a jab with porous defense with exposed chin. He often abandons the jab and straight right hand in favor of free swinging left hooks and right crosses which he has gotten away with for eleven years because his greatest defense is being fleet footed. For a flat footed boxer he exhibits daft angles and can change directions on a dime. Martirosyn has the unique ability on today’s market in being able to box going backwards. At 154 pounds his chin must be rated an “A” having withstood the duration of competitive bouts against Lara, Jermell Charlo and Demetrius Andrade.
What to look for fight night: The union of these two styles will make for a competitive match even though Gennady will look like he’s facing an Olympic track runner. The disparity in muscle mass will be equal to the disparity in power. Vanes is not going to make Gennady blink let alone take a backwards step. His game must me “hit and move,” changing directions every few seconds in hope of disrupting the champion’s rhythm and killing the time keeper’s clock in every round. The challenger is trained by Freddie Roach who quite possibly is the best trainer extent. No one today executes a better game plan of exact combinations in training for a particular fight than Roach. His pad training has become legendary.
Gennady must cut ring off and punch when Vanes does in order not to be countering the wind upon his exit of pocket. Having faced three of the four best middleweights beneath him in his last three fights this bout should be a breather for Golovkin in terms of power and speed. Never one to take any fight lightly he must be focused to making necessary adjustments of Martirosyn’s peculiar merry-go -round style. The sooner the champion can hammer the rib cage the quicker the process will be. Having no fear of the challengers power look for Gennady to not only walk his man down but start walking through him by fourth round.
The Vinny Factor:
There is no shred of evidence to give credence of a possible upset in the making. Martirosyn is coming off a two year layoff and moving up six pounds to the middleweight division. He is not just introducing himself to the 160 pounders but challenging the long reigning champion who is driven to becoming a legend while building upon his legacy. The fact that Gennady has leather skin that doesn’t cut and a chin of steel doesn’t help his cause either. Add the final rivet that Freddie Roach never has a plan “B.” quite possibly because today’s generation of fighters simply don’t have the skill set to change gears and tactics mid fight. (Terence Crawford being the exception to the rule)
Odds:
Fight was announced on April 18 drawing little interest on sports books. Early Vegas line has Golovkin a 12/1 favorite.
Prediction:
Gennady Golovkin by TKO in ten.
Stay tuned…
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