Why come did GGG struggle with a shot, former 147 Kassim Ouma?

In retrospect i love that fight and its for a reason some people may overlook, admittedly its part speculation by me but it seems sound. Golovkin was still in promotional limbo at that time because of his legal battle with Universum and had hooked up with Sanchez not too long before.

As an amateur and through his pro career up to that point he was a boxer/puncher/stalking counter puncher he was not an infighter and Sanchez started refining and slightly altering his style once they got together. I believe that against Ouma he was testing out his new found infighting skills that they had been working on and even though Ouma isn't a huge puncher he's an extremely skilled slippery southpaw infighter.

We've all seen Golovkin's jab, footwork and excellent ability to control the distance i don't think he would have too much trouble boxing the shorter flatfooted Ouma from the outside, it wasn't a case of Ouma forcing GGG to fight his fight imo. Golovkin committing to that gameplan and fighting Ouma inside was a ballsy move that's the perspective i have come to see the fight through looking back with all the variables.

 

In a rematch Golovkin would easily knock him out, no contest. Golovkin is extremely underrated and always will be in America.........................

 

Have to agree - I'm a big GGG fan but there were a number of close rounds up until about rnd 7 or 8. Nonethless Golovkin was fighting under far from ideal conditions having arrived in Panama city barely in time to make weigh-in having had to spend a day or two sleeping at the airport due to visa issues.

All fighters will have to deal with adverse conditions at various times - it's part of the deal, however Golovkin did win - what the Ouma fight showed to me more than anything was the when faced with adversity he's the kinda fighter that will dig in and battle on to victory.

Also easy to forget that at his peak Ouma was one of the top JMWs in the world, and depite clearly being on the slide was only 33 and had only been stopped once in his career - 12 years earlier.

 

Styles and hype....GGG hype and Ouma experience and style ....

 

why come

 

Bad day at the office we all have them

 

I wouldn't even say that:

Taking into account that he was a fledgling baby in the pro ranks, taking a monumental leap up in class (sure he by then had two 'world title bouts" under his belt already, but let's be honest: that Nunez and Tapia ever participated in 'world title bouts' was an utter joke and neither of them belonged in any reasonable top fifteen, let alone in serious contention...both miles behind even a shot Ouma in terms of the actual risk they posed...) he showed amazing resiliency in a) rebounding from an early deficit and forcing a notoriously sturdy and game opponent with vastly more experience to wilt, and possibly, as Vys theorizes, b) making the dangerous gamble of experimenting with a new style and risking a loss but still pulling it out.

Hard day at the office, sure (whether it was due to a combination of his own inexperience & Ouma really getting up for one last solid effort, or raising the bar on himself by abandoning his usual outside stalker's role to see if he could best Ouma in a scrappier manner than he was usually comfortable engaging in) - but the word "bad" shouldn't be part of anyone's takeaway, and while the OP is correct that he "struggled with a shot former welter" he is wrong in the conclusion he draws from that of it somehow reflecting poorly on Golovkin. That shot former welter put up a heck of a fight, and Golovkin despite struggling through eight rounds trudged on through and seized victory. That is how championship mettle is forged. That night was a net positive for Golovkin, however much his stock may have dipped on the night itself for not looking spectacularly dominant from the opening bell. (fairly little, I'd say, and ever receding in view the more time passes...)

 

Ouma is one of those fookers who is too tough for his own good.

 

It brought him far in life. If you give it the right perspective his toughness was a valuable asset in the grand scheme, even if a bit of a liability in the narrow context of his boxing career.