Gennady Golovkin - All Time Ranking?

I have him behind Hagler and Hopkins. He needs a clear victory over an elite opponent or two to move up the ladder. I don't think the Jacobs and Canelo fights did a lit for his reputation because there was room for those fights to go either way and he showed that his defense was an issue and his power manageable at that level.

 

Yeah, just to be clear--I didn't think he looked particularly good against Canelo at all but I thought that he clearly earned the decision. I don't see any legitimate way to give Canelo more than 5 rounds at most. To the extent that we think of Canelo as an important opponent, Golovkin already clearly bested him. I think Golovkin's reflexes are slowing down though, so I see him having some of the same problems whenever they have their rematch.

 

Huge height advantage? Jacobs is barely two inches taller than Golovkin. And a 180lb middleweight would have been an impressive scalp in the 20s. Today its nothing to be surprised about.

When Jacobs skipped the IBF rehydration weigh in and the Golovkin fans went crazy, putting up all kinds of conspiracy theories, it really showed how desperate they were to build up the myth of their sorely unproven legend. A large part of Golovkin is a myth. He knocks out heavyweights - its a myth. He outwrestles gigantic athletes - its a myth. He crushes the facial bones of fighters - who fight at welterweight. Roy Jones Jr. beating a heavyweight is not a myth. Mickey Walker fighting Jack Sharkey to a draw is not a myth. Bernard Hopkins going up to 175 and fighting Sergey Kovalev is not a myth either. If Golovkin wanted to be a legend and not just a myth he should have moved up and fought much bigger fighters. If he wanted to be legitimately known as the longest reigning middleweight he should have taken all the comers without fussing about money fights. Instead he will be known as the fighter who allowed his second best opponent to escape with a close decision in order to make money with his best opponent, who he drew with.

 

He really is hard to rate. The fact he didn't stop Jacobs or Canelo makes it hard to say he is in the level of a Hagler or Monzon.

 

I scored that fight for Canelo. It's pretty easy to do if you prefer hard counterpunching over marching forward. HBO commentary was also biased as usual.

 

I'm a huge Golovkin fan and I kind of agree with this. The more times I rewatch the fight, I give a little more credit to Canelo for his defense and counters. I cringe every time I see GGG throw the right and miss as Canelo moves left out of the corner.

GGG prides himself a whole lot, so in the 2nd fight I think he is going to force exchanges when he traps Canelo in the corner than he did in the first fight.

 

Rummy... May I ask where you rate him? This is a popular thread it seems. But how about throwing your own hat in the ring? I say number 22 but quickly reconsidering. How about yourself, my man?

 

About 10 , I actually think he'd beat up LaMotta in a UD. And I wouldn't say he couldn,t beat Monzon either

 

You must have some kind of agenda against G to score that fight a draw. You dont take a Championship running and landing some flashy pot shots. No way in hell was that fight a draw. 7-5 in favor of G is being generous and that's with G looking a bit soft and flat like he peaked at the wrong time while Canelo just keeps adding slabs of Muscle. Marquez still catches hell but Canelo still gets a pass even after hes snagged. BS

 

Hard to place someone, whose biggest win is an unconvincing UD over Daniel Jacobs. But, talk of Top-10? Sorry - I am certain he doesn't belong there.

With little time left in his career, I doubt he can ever seriously be considered as being ranked amongst the Top-10 Middleweights of All-time.

 

You (and others) are causing me to rethink my position that he is flirting with the top 15. I might have to rephrase that to flirting towards the top 20.

 

When Golovkin retires and the dust settles, it won't be a straightforward exercise to position him in the ATG ranks, in my opinion. Reliance will be placed on Golovkin's longevity as a titleholder and, should he remain so, him having bowed out an undefeated fighter.

However, the value placed on these considerations, has to also depend on the level of opposition, to my mind. So, given the talent-rich history of the Middleweight division, assessing him against those already occupying places, say, in the Top-20 (or even the Top-30), will be difficult.

 

I'm hearing you.

 

Well, I wouldn't put him up with them but you could easily criticize Hagler for failing to stop Duran and Leonard, and Antuofermo the first time.