¿Is Golovkin in his prime an ATG MW (H2H)?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Fabiandios, Oct 22, 2025 at 2:13 PM.


¿Is Golovkin in his prime an ATG MW (H2H)?

  1. ATG (Top 10)

    7 vote(s)
    35.0%
  2. World Class

    10 vote(s)
    50.0%
  3. Excellent

    1 vote(s)
    5.0%
  4. Good

    2 vote(s)
    10.0%
  5. Average

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Reinhardt

    Reinhardt Boxing Junkie Full Member

    14,070
    19,179
    Oct 4, 2016
    He's not a top 10 all time great fighter...he doesn't have nearly the resume for that
     
  2. Dynamicpuncher

    Dynamicpuncher Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

    15,754
    33,007
    Jan 14, 2022
    I'd say World Class.

    He has no real glaring weaknesses he has a good chin, good power, good fundamentals, good body puncher, solid hand speed.

    But when he stepped up slightly in competition against Jacobs, Canelo, Derevyanchenko, he didn't look anywhere near as convincing.

    Based on the fact every A Class Middleweight he fought he struggled with and he's never had a convincing win against an upper echelon Middleweight suggests to me Golovkin maybe a tad overrated in regards to H2H ability.

    Don't get me wrong Golovkin would still be a match for most Middleweights in history but I think he falls a bit short of the very best H2H fighters at Middleweight.
     
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2025 at 8:22 PM
  3. themaster458

    themaster458 Well-Known Member Full Member

    2,747
    3,447
    May 17, 2022
    He's an ATG no real weakness great everywhere and has the tools to deal with anyone.
     
    m.s. likes this.
  4. m.s.

    m.s. Boxing Junkie Full Member

    8,445
    8,236
    Nov 2, 2010
    I believe Golovkin is an all time great, but a top 10 middleweight? I'm not sure, because all haven't studied realistically all the top middleweights. There were alot of them, but I am confident he could take most, especially a prime Golovkin. He's far better than just world class.
     
  5. Boxed Ears

    Boxed Ears this my daddy's account (RIP daddy) Full Member

    56,307
    10,788
    Jul 28, 2009
    It is now a proven scientific fact that Golovkin is no metaphysically bigger than past Kazakhstanian middleweights of earlier eras of sport.
     
  6. Lonsdale81

    Lonsdale81 Member Full Member

    461
    699
    May 19, 2025
    I love triple G but the reality is his resume just doesn't stack up to the greats of the past, & for me resume is king.. but to be fair to him he was an avoided fighter & was stiffed of two wins over a prime Canelo too.. H2H he definitely had the aura & ability to probably compete in any era but hes a bit of a what if Golovkin in some ways...
     
  7. zadfrak

    zadfrak Boxing Junkie Full Member

    8,534
    3,139
    Feb 17, 2008
    Too many great fighters at that weightclass for top 10. One of the sports deepest divisions.
     
    Smokin Bert likes this.
  8. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

    113,176
    48,442
    Mar 21, 2007
    Head to head, do what you like.

    Head to head is so complex and so much more complex than people think. GGG is not a large middleweight for his era but he would have a singificant size advantage over someone like Dick Tiger and a huge size advantage over someone like Stanley Ketchel. Speaking of Ketchel, the rules between his era and GGG's are just different - they're just so different. Could Ketchel possibly adapt to these massive gloves, unable to weave punches and find corners and nooks for his devastating power? Could GGG possibly last 25 rounds and keep his temper being brutally fouled by naked laces? We don't know, it's speculation way beyond how styles and attributes might mesh (and be honest, we don't have a deep understanding of even that).

    The reason people who really understand boxing are reluctant to go overboard in lauding the head to head aspect in all time standing is that it has so little meaning. How can we measure A tiny guy like Hugo Kelly against a relative monster like Hopkins? How can it possibly be imagined that Hopkins might weigh in at 158lbs ringside (or near it) as Kelly did for his world title matches and perform at his maximum? How can we know how good Canelo might be in the 20th round of a fight with indeterminate timekeeping and an actual barn wall for the fourth rope? We don't know. We don't have the first clue.

    What we can say about GGG is that he was a wonderful fighter with many great attributes who would be competitive fighter in his weight range from all of history, whether that's the light-heavyweights of the early twentieth century or the super-middles of the 1980s or the middleweights fighting today. But the words "all time middleweight head to head" mean nothing to me.

    What you might try to do is try to compare overall skillsets versus the era's rulesets for all middleweights who are up there, but it is a task few I know of would have the patience for on the forum today.

    All that said -it's fun probably to think about for a lot of people, so have at it, just another thought.
     
    m.s., Greg Price99 and OddR like this.
  9. slipperypete

    slipperypete New Member Full Member

    20
    20
    Sep 25, 2025
    No. HBO really blew him up, and for the most part he deserved it! But not an ATG.
     
    Smokin Bert likes this.
  10. SheenLantern

    SheenLantern Active Member Full Member

    533
    911
    Jan 13, 2016
    Easily, he was the P4P king for multiple years.