why was ggg so scared to move up/down a weight class

i can guess, GGG was there, Charlo was there, and Andrade was there, and Benevidez wasn't champ at the time. It was the perfect time to try to unify in the next weight. It would also give Canelo a reason to age GGG, who he was extremely lucky to get by. Who do you think Canelo would rather fight Callum Smith, Yildrim, Saunders, and Plant to unify at 168lbs or a rematch with GGG, then Charlo, and Andrade? At that point guess who would be back in town, likely undisputed or well on his way, Benevidez, so when the cat was away Canelo raided the hen house.

 

Please, Gvozdyk has one good win.

 

i think that 170 was only for Canelo fight? He was often 164/165 30 days before weigh in, even kell brook weighed in more than him at the 30 day before weigh in at 176 while GGG was 165 and he was the welterweight stepping up 2 divisions.

How many fighters become undisputed? It’s not a case of respecting one and not the other

 

Yep, Golovkin wasn't a muscle head like Canelo.

 

I don't think GGG was scared of moving up, he was just comfortable at 160, and he had belts to defend. Some fighters are just better at maintaining weight than others, while other fighters eventually put on weight and outgrow weight classes and move up. Moving up in weight classes and capturing belts at higher weight classes really is an extraordinary thing to do, many fighters can't do it, or don't have the frame or power to do it. Prime GGG I think had the power to move up and be effective at higher weights, but when the mid to late 30s decline came, apparently GGG was no longer as devastating a puncher as he was when he was younger. Which means at that point it made sense to stay at 160.

 

Golovkin was going to fight Pirog, but Pirog injured his back and retired. Cotto didn't seem interested in fighting GGG and in all likelihood would have lost big. Same with Martinez. At that time there wasnt much going on at 168lbs either.

 

hagler is not great because he stayed at 160 his whole career. he is great because of who he fought at 160. ggg cant compare in the quality of opposition. its not a valid comparison. hagler would not be remembered the same way if you removed the hof fighters he got the opportunity to fight.
ggg could have enhanced his legacy by fighting at 168. it didnt need to be against ward or froch. it would just be a challenge to confirm that he is a great fighter even if his opposition at 160 is not particularly strong. it doesnt mean that he was scared. it does mean that he didnt have the ambition to prove more than what was expected.

 

G had himself a girlfriend but you didn't know her. She went to a different school.

 

It takes a different kind of greatness to reign over a single division and to have the discipline to maintain that weight imo. GGG has the most title defences in MW history. How unique of an accomplishment is that? We can pick apart his resume all we like but in terms of sheer dominance, I struggle to think of many other MWs who come close. There weren't many opportunities for big fights being provided to GGG for most of his career, he wasn't likely to get fights against champs in other weights when he struggled to get fights against his fellow champs at 160 anyway. GGG just had the right frame for 160 and didn't want to drain down or bulk up just to be avoided by a different cast of belt-holders.

 

I mean't in his prime.

 

Spent a few years building his profile in Germany while hopking to get a fight with Sturm.
Arrived on HBO at the age of 30.
Spent the following years chasing the big fight vs Martinez/Cotto/Alvarez.
Then the Alvarez rematch.
Then DAZN tangled another Alvarez fight in front of him.

There was never any point to him moving up or down as the big fights were always there for him at 160 and he wanted to be the best. And in the end he did move to 168 for a one off.

Had Golovkin not been made to waste his first 6 years in Germany, then we would likely have seen him at 154 or 168.

 

Why should a great fighter have to fight outside their natural weightclass, GGG scared? Perhaps you ought to improve your knowledge of GGG.

 

I don't think fighters should have to move around in weight to get respect.
I honestly prefer a champion who is dominant in his weight class and continues to rule it until someone can try and dethrone him.

I hate when I have to discuss boxing and people are using weight jumping as a crutch for why someone lost.
"Oh, Lomachenko was small against the 135lb guys, that's the only reason he lost!". It's like, okay then... move back down in weight, then.
"Canelo only lost to Bivol because he's small!" Not true, which is why he wouldn't agree to fight Bivol at his supposedly natural 168 weight, also, don't move up in weight then.

There's no excuse for moving up and getting bodied, so champions like Beterbiev and Golovkin, or old school champs like Hagler or Hopkins at 160, I respect a lot.

 

I doubt it was fear that cemented G at middleweight. It was the prospect of fighting the cash cow by the name of Canelo. Imagine if G moved up to 168 before Canelo moved to 160. G haters would be using that as a reason to say G was the guy afraid of the fight.