Gennady Golovkin (present) Marco Antonio Rubio KO2 Daniel Geale TKO3 Osumanu Adama TKO7 Curtis Stevens RTD8 Matthew Macklin KO3 Sergio Martinez (June 2012) Matthew Macklin RTD11 Darren Barker KO11 Serhiy Dzinziruk TKO8 Paul Williams KO2 Kelly Pavlik UD12 Kelly Pavlik (June 2008 ) Gary Lockett TKO3 Jermain Taylor UD12 (super middleweight) Jermain Taylor TKO7 Edison Miranda TKO7 Jose Luis Zertuche KO8 Jermain Taylor (June 2007) Cory Spinks SD12 Kassim Ouma UD12 Ronald Wright, a draw 12 Bernard Hopkins UD12 Bernard Hopkins SD12 Bernard Hopkins (June 2005) Howard Eastman UD12 Oscar De La Hoya KO9 Robert Allen UD12 William Joppy UD12 Morrade Hakkar RTD8
On the list above, you can see the last 5 fights of each fighter at the time they were considered the best in the Middleweight division. Whose hype was the most justified considering fighters last 5 fights?
Hopkins was the undisputed MW champ, holding all 4 belts, the first person to ever do that. He was p4p number 1 after Roy got KO'd and reached super star status when he beat DLH.
MIght wanna fix your list... It says PTS12 for Winky vs Jermain... Should probably say it was a draw. I have seen PTS as W before on boxrec. just to make things clear.
It´s a reasonable conclusion but the thread was about the last 5 fights. IMO It´s also questionable to appreciate win against DLH. DLH had lost already 3 times and got a gift decision against Sturm. Afterward he fought at 147. I think win against Cotto 2015 should be valued more and Cotto is not even close to being the hardest fight at 160.
Taylor and Pavlik had 2 big wins over the champ but then didn't follow up Martinez might have the best list GGG might have the most dominant results
Well if we're going by the last 5 fights, Martinez had the better resume in beating Pavlik and Williams. Taylor had the bigger win in Hopkins, with Pavlik being in second place. I don't appreciate the win against DLH, it just made Hopkins reach superstar status. It got his name out there and he got the recognition he wanted. He was already top 3 p4p and got elevated to number 1 after Jones lost. Out of all those fighters though, Hopkins hype was justified. He was the most dominant champ of his generation and there hasn't been a dominant MW since then. GGG could surpass it though if he keeps knocking people out and picking up belts.
I see it the same way. But what bothers me is the way Taylor is been valued here. His best win after Hopkins are Spinks, Lacy and Marquez. On the other hand, Pavliks best win is Taylor and then follows Miranda and Zertuche (The same guy who lost to Mora). Hopkins last 5 fight are not very impressed but like someone already commented, he was P4P 2. And for what? Looking his last fight before these 5 fights, there is only Glen Johnson (Who lost many times afterwards), Allen and Trinidad (Who had his prime at 147-154).
What about the old saying that the fighter is as good as his last performance? Bernard Hopkins (June 2005): Howard Eastman UD12 To me, point win against a fighter that had no names on his record(except loosing to Joppy) doesn´t look good at all. Jermain Taylor (June 2007): Cory Spinks SD12 Spinks was a good boxer but he wasn´t MW. Doesn´t look good at all. Kelly Pavlik (June 2008 ): Gary Lockett TKO3 Lockett was a domestic level fighter nothing more. Result doesn´t say much but doesn´t make any doubts eather. Sergio Martinez (June 2012): Matthew Macklin RTD11 Macklin was considerate a good world level contender who should have had the belt (Some say he won Sturm fight). It was a good win but nothing great. Sergio was on the floor once in the fight and the fight was competitive. It proves he was the champion at the time. Gennady Golovkin (present): Marco Antonio Rubio KO2 Rubio is not a world beater but had good wins against Lemieux, Spada and Zertuche. Lost to Pavlik and Chavez Jr. but gave a fight to Chavez Jr. GGG also dominated and destroyed him much quicker than Pavlik. GGG did what expected. So to me at the time, only Martinez had a real win. Pavlik and GGG did what they were supposed to do, Taylor and Hopkins were struggling against decent but not overhelmingly hard opponents.
Why wouldn´t he be on the list? He was one of the five most recognized MW champs post 2000. Maybe I should have included Abraham as well, but personally I don´t see him as a big champ at all.
