Is Golovkin really as good as people say?

Thing about him i like is his defense it isnt just a block like Abraham he slips and catches punches on his arms whilst coming forward, he barely gets hit with a clean glove, he needs to fight better people though saying Martinez vs Golovkin is 50/50 is just dumb
He hasn't fought anyone good yet, Martinez should UD him quite comfortably

 

To point out the obvious, I think he's about 370 odd wins against 5 losses as a boxer so he's probably really quite good at boxing!

As for whether he's going to be the same level as a pro as he was in the amateurs, time will tell. It's a matter of seeing the big fights, that is what people will judge him on. Let's just hope another year doesn't slip by without seeing one. What we do know is he hasn't been remotely pushed as yet. Ouma has probably been his toughest fight, and even that if he wasn't in any real danger.

 

Nothing wrong with the opposition that Martinez has faced since his reign began. He's still fighting better opponents than the other titlist's and, all the guys he's fighting are at least solid contenders. Far better than anything Golovkin has faced so far Murray is the worse of the lot and even he's not that bad.

 

But he is a P4P fighter? Surely he should be held to a higher standard like Mayweather, Pacquiao etc.

If Mayweather faced Kell Brook and Jan Zaveck he would rightfully be ripped to pieces but Martinez is ok?

Ricky Burns have faced a stronger level of opponent as a champion than Martinez.

 

As to how good Golovkin is, I think most would agree that he's top class. I used to be skeptical of him, especially after he had a tough time against a faded light-middleweight in Ouma, but he's really stepped up in his performances since then, and become more active. He can hit as hard and has a better workrate than someone like Abraham, and he can blend offense with defence more fluidly, which was one of King Arthur biggest flaws. His timing is top notch to, if you trade with him your almost always coming off second best. His defence is more varied to, he can duck and slip a shot, rather than just putting is earmuffs on. Add to that GGG's entertaining style and granite chin, and you can see why people are riding his dick so much:good

 

Watch and decide for yourself.

 

Who is he supposed to face? There isn't that much out there at the moment, he's facing decent fare at middleweight.

Golovkin is the only one who'd meet the criteria you're talking about, and he's only recently started to grow his profile by moving out to America. To be fair to Martinez and his team, they have acknowledged Golovkin, and that it could be a fight in the near future.

 

If your the true Middleweight champion and your next fight is bringing Martin Murray, a guy whos best win is over Nick Blackwell, in Argentina with HBO backing and you don't get slagged off?

 

Martinez wants the big fights, what fighter at his age doesn't? He has openly called out a lot of the big names, but few seem to want fight him, and the fans more often than not criticize him for targeting smaller men. As it stands he can only fight the best in his division. Solid contenders like Macklin, Barker and Chavez are no slouches and decent names on anyone's record, Dzinziruck was a titlist and a really good opponent at the time he fought Martinez. Williams and Pavlik are excellent wins.

The one thing I cant criticize about Martinez is his level of opposition, its solid. He's already said that he's open to fights with Geale/Golovkin, and I dont see any reason to doubt his word. Golovkin needs building up and a few good names on his record before I want to see him against Sexy though.

As for Ricky Burns opposition vs Martinez's:
Pavlik > Martinez
Williams > Moses
Chavez > Katsidis (At least at the time he fought Ricky )
Macklin > Mitchell
Barker > Cook
Murray > Evenson
Dzinziruk > Laryea

Its irrefutable:good

 

Martin Murray may not have a great 'best win', but he's put in a performance that suggests he's not complete cannon fodder. He'd be there or there abouts in a top 10, which probably says a lot for the depth at middleweight, but it is what it is...

We've seen him against Chavez which a lot of people wanted, Macklin and Barker who were supposedly good contenders, and this is coming off Pavlik and Williams fights who were probably some of the better operators we've had at middleweight in recent years.

What do you want from him? The only fight that would truly excite me would be Golovkin, and even as a big fan of Golovkin, you have to be realistic and say he's only just gained a profile and they've acknowledged that.

Names? Be specific, not just critical.

 

I just think he should be held to the same standard as Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Andre Ward, Juan Manuel Marquez etc etc. Thats my point. If any of those guys faced somebody the level of Barker and Murray they would get slated especially when there is a 50-50 fight in the division.

 

DiBella has come out and said they want no part of Golivkin. Saying the same things fighters used to say about Martinez to avoid him. The big names he has called out are all in divisions below him.

Perhaps that was an exaggeration but Burns is a belt holder, Martinez is a P4P elite fighter.

 

I agree in theory, but those guys are (or have been in Andre Ward's case) blessed with a plethora of good potential fights in front of them which they can choose from and find one that works. That makes things a lot easier. They also have the option of moving up and down in weight freely to find these fights, whereas Martinez is probably rooted at middleweight now. It's unlikely he'd fight at 154 again when I read he was weighing at 170 at the moment going into this Murray fight so you can imagine what his walk around weight is, and he's far too small to go to 168, so what you have is a situation where he can only pick from a limited number of opponents in a shallow division. It is inevitable you're going to get the odd uninteresting fight, but on the whole I think they've stacked up okay.

Less than 1 year ago Golovkin was fighting Makoto Fuchigami who did a really bad Koji Sato impression in Ukraine. You've gotta be mindful of that and a little patient when calling for this matchup.

 

A fighters promoters say a lot of ****, he's syaing one thing and another of Martinez's guys says he wants it. It could be a whole different story in a few months Im well aware of all the fighters who have been avoiding Golovkin, but Martinez's excuses carry more weight than that lot. Golovkin really isn't all that big of an opponent yet, especially for a fight with Martinez in a potential unification on HBO. He's going about it the right way though if he wants to force a fight with him, moving to America and fighting regularly on HBO is going to get him known by the crowd there. All he needs now is to add an extra name or two on his record. If this proposed Macklin fight gets made for GGG, its a great step up.

But if Martinez and his team is saying the say come this time next year, we'll all be pissed and rightfully so. He should should get a pass for now though.

 

Apparently Macklin-Golovkin is very close for June 29th.