Gennady "GGG" Golovkin: setting the record straight on several matters.

BOGART · Mar 31, 2015

IntentionalButt said: ↑

First things first: I am neither a pro nor anti Golovkin fanatic. This is an informative thread, not a "gushing over Golovkin" nor a "rake Golovkin over the coals" thread.

All the pro or anti nutters, please keep your inane debating and poorly disguised agendas out. If you derail my thread I will ban the living shit outta you, permanently, with extreme prejudice.

Now, there are four key points I'd like to address, concerning the man called Triple Gee.

1. His early professional career.

It wasn't a bum circuit, and he actually fought legitimate opposition long before his American TV debut and the beginnings of his being a blip on mainstream fans' radar.

Haters, calm yourselves. I'm not saying he consistently took on the best from his pro debut on, like a Lomachenko... or even that he was fast-tracked like other amateurs stars like an Inoue or Pulev or Ioka or what have you.

What I'm saying is that he didn't just go barnstorming yurts in the steppes of Karaganda Province roughing up sheepherders with 6oz gloves for the first half of his professional campaign after turning over at the conclusion of a legendary amateur run. He wasn't just padding his record until he fought Grzegorz Proksa, when most saw him for the first time. I think a lot of the confusion stems from the fact that his WBA middleweight title run began with two horrible opponents: Milton Núñez & Nilson Julio Tapia. Golovkin vs. Núñez shouldn't have been for a world title; Núñez had no business whatsoever being in that position. Tapia was a dire contender & first defense. I think people look back at the start of his world title reign and just assume that everything before it was just as bad or worse. Not so. Núñez & Tapia were huge steps down in class from several previous Golovkin opponents.

To wit:
Javier Alberto Mamani - the former South American champion, the "Argentinian Cobra", was, before he ran afoul of Golovkin, on a 7-2 (3) run including notable kayo victories over Crazy Kim and Omar Weis, and two points losses to Avtandil Khurtsidze and Nobuhiro Ishida, both in their backyards. (in the Georgian's case, his adopted home - and that was a majority decision). GGG wiped him out in three minutes flat. The wheels may have come off since then, incurring a bushel of additional stoppage losses including a rematch to Carlos Jerez (whom Mamani had previously defeated) but six years ago he was still a tough out and had a respectable trio of KO victim scalps in Kim, Weis, and Venezuelan slugger Charlie Navarro (that one in particular has aged very well). Golovkin brutalized him (already showing off his infamous "shifting" technique, alternating power-punches with both hands using on-the-fly adjustments of footwork in a stance neither southpaw nor orthodox but still firmly rooted and balanced), and it was child's play. For a novice in his 15th pro bout to abuse Mamani the way Golovkin did, was a red alert.

Mehdi Bouadla - the first man to carry Golovkin the scheduled distance, this very tough and tricky Frenchman would gain notoriety for being a pest with those qualities and capture a French 168lb championship (along with some other baubles) years later. He also was never stopped until the final stretch of his career, and only by heavy-thumping individuals such as Kessler, Abraham, & Chudinov. The raw Golovkin found himself for the first time in the paid ranks unable to smash the man in front of him, to either render him unconscious or make him quit, and yet he never lost his cool. Bouadla threw all sorts of strange looks at him, throwing punches from unconventional angles, utilizing movement Golovkin hadn't seen in any of his previous 8 bouts - or probably in the amateurs either. Without batting an eyelash, Golovkin put on his big-boy pants and hardhat and went about changing tactics, comfortably outpointing Bouadla in the neighborhood of 6-2.

Siarhei Khomitsky - this has aged like fine wine. I can't believe people never mention this feather in young Golovkin's cap. This is arguably Golovkin's best result until his last three - and people don't even realize it. Some probably aren't even aware they fought! The gritty Belarusian has made his bones upsetting prospects or giving them absolute hell, and fought on very even terms with: Murray x2, Stieglitz, Ndiaye, and Blackwell and stopped Moore and unbeaten Buglioni. Khomitsky has been stopped himself exactly thrice: once a corner retirement against the criminally underrated "Tornado", Avtandil Khurtsidze, and once in a display of atrocious home-cooking in Germany to save the bacon of Stieglitz when Khomitsky had recently put him in dire straits, a TKO awarded to Stieglitz on the dubious basis of loose tape on Khomitsky's glove. The only time he was ever knocked out for a 10-count was by Golovkin - on a delayed reaction to a body shot. That was an insane bit of matchmaking, as Khomitsky already had a reputation at that point and had 23 fights under his belt; Golovkin had seven.

Ian Gardner - the second man to reach the final bell with Golovkin, and like Bouadla, appropriately one boiled-leather S.O.B. With little pop but some nice hand & foot speed to go with a fluid southpaw melt-in-the-pocket counter-tapping style, and with the coach of none other than Marvin Hagler in his corner, Gardner provided Golovkin with his first glimpse (since the amateurs) of a slick American style of boxing. He previously had survived a full twelve with Abraham despite getting dropped thrice. He also nearly went the championship length with a young Chad Dawson, again rising from several knockdowns and proving incredibly hard to finish off with his loose-boned elusiveness and quick-thinking instincts. GGG's first taste of awkwardness may have been served from Bouadla, but Golovkin didn't know the meaning of the word frustration until Gardner consistently made him miss or rolled into punches to clinch & smother, and slapped the white off Golovkin with light counters. Though flashes of annoyance did at times penetrate that winsome smile, Golovkin nevertheless remained calm and did what he needed to, and proved he could outbox a boxer.

Mikhail Makarov - a tall, fit 10-0 Russian southpaw. Not a fellow amateur legend or anything, but a capable and well-schooled opponent. In a sudden explosion of violence after both had boxed well (if cautiously) in the opener, Golovkin broke his nose with a single punch, dribbled him repeatedly off the canvas, and sent him into retirement (though he reemerged a few years later).

Kassim Ouma - yes, he was a difficult assignment for Golovkin. Very much so. That much is beyond debate. What is debatable is what gets extrapolated from that - with a vocal minority insisting that Golovkin was "exposed" as someone who can't handle anyone standing up to him and/or throwing a very high volume of punches while boasting a very good chin. All of that has since been disproved fairly satisfactorily, I think, but going back to Ouma, it was certainly no black eye that Golovkin hit a learning curve and experienced a hard night's work for once in the guise of the former light middleweight champion and 2-time middleweight title challenger. Ouma was running low on passion and nearing his career's twilight, yes, but he went out with a bang and turned back the clock in this performance, arguably closer to vintage Ouma that night than he was in either of his previous losses, giving Martirosyan and Rosado enormous headaches of their own. The punch stats alone bear that out - he was throwing as much that night as the prime, motivated Ouma used to. Oh, and did I mention Golovkin even while faced with the unexpected adversity of a spirited Ouma, broke the iron-made Ugandan down steadily and became the first person to ever legitimately stop him? (the loss to Agustin Silva was a technicality, as the Miami commission had a 3-knockdown rule in effect...not to mention Kassim was as green as his beloved kind-bud at that point...)

...to say nothing of Dziarra (solid European-level boxer, mutilated in the 1st, his face shredded to ribbons by legal blows forcing a cuts stoppage) or Lajuan Simon (known for being durable, had gone the distance with punchers Abraham, Dionisio Miranda, and Darnell Boone without so much as hitting the canvas - and Golovkin blitzed him, unconscious in two minutes...)
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Golovkin's was matched pretty tough on his way up. Facing guys like Gardner, Bouadla, and Khomitsky in his first 10 or so fights was a strong run of opponents for Golovkin at that point.

I don't hold the Ouma fight against Golovkin either. Ouma was a very experienced guy who was far from his peak but could still give young guys a hard night, like he did prior to Golovkin with Martiroysan and Rosado. Ouma made it tough but Golovkin ended up stopping him. Nothing wrong there.

If that same result happened to a current Golovkin then he would deserve criticism but the current version of Golovkin is a more polished, experienced, and better version than the one Ouma fought.

IntentionalButt · Apr 2, 2015

BOGART said: ↑

Golovkin's was matched pretty tough on his way up. Facing guys like Gardner, Bouadla, and Khomitsky in his first 10 or so fights was a strong run of opponents for Golovkin at that point.

I don't hold the Ouma fight against Golovkin either. Ouma was a very experienced guy who was far from his peak but could still give young guys a hard night, like he did prior to Golovkin with Martiroysan and Rosado. Ouma made it tough but Golovkin ended up stopping him. Nothing wrong there.

If that same result happened to a current Golovkin then he would deserve criticism but the current version of Golovkin is a more polished, experienced, and better version than the one Ouma fought.
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:good

His opposition through a dozen was superior to, say, Eubank Jr.'s until 2-3 matches ago.

...and yes, Golovkin is miles ahead of the version of himself that fought Ouma. You can literally track his progress on a steady incline fight to fight (given that all of them have footage available) like I said earlier.

QuadrupleG · Apr 2, 2015

Golovkin was sick/exhausted when fighting Ouma. That fight does not reflect his level at the time.

Cisco Route · Apr 2, 2015

pablinov said: ↑

Golovkin is still a professional boxer, it would be wise to withhold the *ducking* and Weak resume allegations until his (Golovkin's) story as a boxer has played out, :bart
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More apologizing and excuse making. Sports books have Golovkin as a 1-100 favorite for his upcoming fight.

Let me repeat that;

Sports books have Golovkin as a 1-100 favorite for his upcoming fight.

IOW, the bookies believe Golovkin's opponent doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of winning.

Instead of apologizing and making excuses for Golovkin's WEAK resume, how about you demand that your hero fight someone who isn't the proverbial lamb being led to the slaughter?

Mendoza · Apr 2, 2015

IntentionalButt makes very good points. Just a few to add.

GGG actually was a good counter puncher in the amateurs, and can always use that skill if there's a man hard enough and strong enough to willingly exchange with him.

Skill set is a generic term. GGG has skills. He's also a good athlete capable of bending lower to deliver body shots, and equipped with quick feet to cut off the ring.

As we all know his chin is iron. Best P4P chin in boxing.

damian38 · Apr 2, 2015

Mendoza said: ↑

IntentionalButt makes very good points. Just a few to add.

GGG actually was a good counter puncher in the amateurs, and can always use that skill if there's a man hard enough and strong enough to willingly exchange with him.

Skill set is a generic term. GGG has skills. He's also a good athlete capable of bending lower to deliver body shots, and equipped with quick feet to cut off the ring.

As we all know his chin is iron. Best P4P chin in boxing.
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the Geale fight, Bute in the ams, both prove he's at least a solid counter puncher when needed :yep

Hammer Hands · May 21, 2015

Bumping reality back to the front page.

LaidOut · May 22, 2015

Gennady Golovkinez, more Mexican Warrior than Chavez Jr! Who would have believed it just a few years ago?

CST80 · Aug 18, 2015

This could use a

elchivito · Aug 18, 2015

He's a badass, what more can you say? He's not a runner he's a fighter only running I want see are the females with the big booties in the Olympics.

lepinthehood · Aug 18, 2015

And he makes them all good boys

GolovKing · Aug 18, 2015

Easy guy to root for. Enjoy the show while he's around.
Fu ck the haters that dont like him. No, I don't mean all people critical of his resume. Obviously, Golovkin's resume needs some elite guys to realize his full potential. Hopefully it starts happening next year.

chinafoeng · Aug 18, 2015

nice in-depth ****yses, IB!!!!!!
I love it!!!!!!!!

CST80 · Aug 18, 2015

Boxed Ears said: ↑

So, Golovkin was "supposedly" sick when he fought Ouma, then when he got marked up against another irrelevant fighter in Rosado he was "supposedly" sick again? My, what a coincidence! They should call him Gennady "The Stiverne" Golovkin!
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Gennady Influenzadyevich Golovkin would work too.:hey

CST80 · Aug 18, 2015

Boxed Ears said: ↑

:rofl...But, seriously, this guy is in his mid-thirties and hasn't fought anyone.
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What do you want me to do about it?:conf

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Gennady "GGG" Golovkin: setting the record straight on several matters.

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Gennady "GGG" Golovkin: setting the record straight on several matters.

BOGART Boxing Junkie Full Member

IntentionalButt Guy wants to name his çock 'macho' that's ok by me Full Member

QuadrupleG MAZAFAKA Full Member

Cisco Route He Who Says Nay banned

Mendoza Hrgovic = Next Heavyweight champion of the world. banned Full Member

damian38 BigDramaShow Full Member

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LaidOut Whaaaaat? Full Member

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elchivito master betty Full Member

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GolovKing ESB Since 2006 Full Member

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