Who ever thought I would be defending a fighter of TODAY over an oldtimer like **** Tiger ??? But to be fair **** Tiger by the time Tiger was GGGs age about 32 years old, Tiger lost already 11 decisions to guys like Spider Webb, Randy Sandy, Rory Calhoun, Joey Giardello twice, and Wilf Greaves each who I saw ringside at least once. By what grounds does Tiger easily beat the vastly underrated and undefeated monster from hell GGG ???Of all the MWs since Ray Robinson I have the Kazak Kid GGG a favorite to beat any MW since SRR, with the sole exception of possibly the young explosive Roy Jones because of Roy's great handspeed...But in GGG we might be seeing the best MW since my man Ray Robinson, right under our nose without realizing it...
The key word here Bert is MIGHT! Until He beats a few like : Sandy Mims Calhoun Fernandez Benvenuti Torres Carter Giardello Webb Downes The jury is still out as far as I am concerned.
you're going waaaay over the top with GGG, Burt. Did you think the same about Kostya Tszyu, Nazarov or Arbachakov? They weren't being hyped up much though i guess....
Congratulations on a ridiculously classic spin on an all time great chin .. it's like saying Ali was dropped by Chuck Wepner and ko'ed by Larry Holmes, bad chin .. :nut
Lora, NONE OF THE ABOVE WERE AS GOOD AS GGG IS. My contention is that though GGG has not fought anyone of note, THROUGH NO FAULT OF HIS OWN, he shows me certain skills that transcend his era of MW mediocrity...I have been accused on ESB from some that because I was weened on the great golden age of the 1940s and 1950s, that I was an "nostalgia" freak, favoring the oldtimers...Now when I spot a tremendously freaking puncher who can hurt you in all parts of the body, and his amazing record of over 300 amateur bouts and 30 pro fights without ever being floored, tells me this is someone special, I go out on a limb saying GGG would be on a par with any MW since my idol Sugar Ray Robinson, I am ridiculed by some posters...Remember folks I might very well be RIGHT. I saw young SRR coming up, saw young Marciano coming up, saw a young Joey Giardello get flattened by a neighbor Harold Green, and all of them though impressive, someone would have asked "who has he fought yet" ? Sometimes we must recognize a "diamond in the rough"...
He's a very similar fighter to Tszyu.Not as skilled as Arbachakov was. The point being he's hardly some new unique destroyer, there have been soviet school fighters of similar ilk and talent before, but they didn't get the HBO hype treatment.And none managed to go do down as Robinson like fighters. I like Golovkin plenty, he's already shown he's a very good middle imo, but for anything more i think we should just wait and see.
L, what kind of a forum would ESB be if the stock answer was, "we should Wait and see" ? In GGG I see a tremendous "hurtful" puncher who DOES NOT have to ko his opponent to win, as he throws so many well placed punches that win decisive decisions by cutting off the ring like no one I can remember. His left hooks remind one of the old great LH Kid McCoy with his patented Corkscrew punch designed to inflict great cutting damage... And his "arcing" right hand finds the mark quite often with ko type effect. This guy is also a tough hombre for anyone, who so far has not "learned how to lose"...
GGG needs Ward badly for his legacy. He can beat a hundred more Murray/Geale/Rubio types at this point. What will it prove from an ATG perspective? As good as he is, it doesn't come close to proving he could handle Tiger.
Triple G has passed the eye test and his knock out streak over good not great competition is very impressive. His power is fearsome I haven't seen tough men run from making a fight with an opponent like this in a long time. It says a lot. Let's enjoy the run he is on and revisit this every two fights or so. Maybe someone surprises him and stops the train or maybe he really is destined to go down as an ATG.
So, you would have GGG favourite to beat Hagler and Monzon ??? I doubt he'd beat Nunn or Kalambay actually. And, YES, he might well be a GREAT fighter at middleweight.
I think the Tyson comparisons are good. Lots of people were calling Tyson the greatest heavyweight ever, or top 3, when he was still undefeated, and based it partly on his potential - or the expectation that he'd remain unbeaten for many more years. BUT then he lost. So, no one rates him quite that high any more. But that rating still seems to carry a lot over to his current rating, with many people still "bewitched" by the mythical invincible prime. This could well happen with GGG. He's not quite there yet, but a couple more wins and its secure. And, to be fair, at his AGE, it will be an even more valid argument if/when he loses to say "yes, but he was INVINCIBLE in his prime."