Nobody at 160 seems to want any of this.
The WBC has updated their belt, but no word yet on whether, out of pure honesty, they’re going to change the name of their middleweight title to the “I Won’t Fight Gennady Golovkin Championship Of The World.”
There are a lot of titles in boxing, five for each of the seventeen divisions if you count the four major alphabet organizations and Ring magazine, then there is the pound-for-pound title, which means that at any given time there are as many as eighty-six “champions” in boxing. Combine that with catch weight title bouts, excessive numbers of PPV fights, and practically no fights taking place on network TV and it’s not hard to understand why boxing has become a fringe sport in the last 20-25 years. But worst of all is the fact that the two best guys in each division so rarely fight each other that, when they do, it’s big news. In fact, this phenomenon has become so pervasive in boxing these days that for casual fans the biggest news for the last five years is that the two best guys in the sport (and the two biggest attractions) haven’t fought each other. Ugh.
If Arum and King could get along well enough to make this happen, what does this say about Schaefer and Haymon?
There are many reasons top guys don’t fight each other. The biggest reason nowadays is the Cold War involving rival promoters and networks. That is a relatively new phenomenon, because in the past the prospect of the money to be made was enough of an incentive to bring opposing camps together to make the fights happen. What is not new at all is the phenomenon of certain fighters being avoided because they pose too great a risk without providing enough of a reward. Usually such a fighter is one of the most skilled guys in his division, and almost always he packs a huge punch, the kind of punch that can overcome a skill deficit in a blind second, but he hasn’t yet built enough of a following to entice the champion to face him. At any given time there are a small handful of guys like that in the sport, dangerous fighters who are sedulously avoided in their weight class. In boxing today, the most avoided man in the sport is undoubtedly Gennady Golovkin.
Sergio Martinez wanted none of this.
A wise, patient, fundamentally sound boxer with terrifying power in both hands, the 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist from Kazakhstan has torn through enough middleweight fringe contenders and gatekeepers in the last 2-3 years to be widely recognized over that time period as the top contender in the division. Like many prospects in the sport, he gained a toe hold in the divisional rankings by obtaining an alphabet strap after spending the first few years of his career building an undefeated record against non-descript competition. Since then he has worked his way up the ladder of gatekeepers and built a large measure of public demand for a title shot against then-champion Sergio Martinez. “Maravilla” kept saying Golovkin would get his shot, but kept finding reasons not to fight him until Miguel Cotto lifted the linear middleweight championship from Martinez last month in brutal fashion.
If this is what Cotto can do to you, it’s probably best you didn’t fight GGG.
In all likelihood, Cotto will similarly find reasons to avoid defending his middleweight title against the best middleweight in the world; in fact, in a grimly hilarious stunt, later this year Cotto will first defend his new title against Tim Bradley, a small welterweight. And next year, if all goes according to plan, he’ll defend it against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. That leaves Golovkin, for now, with a familiar dilemma – finding a suitable opponent.
Canelo has shown a willingness to take on the best challenges, but my guess is this is the last time you’ll see these guys in the ring together.
Since late 2012, shortly after his 5th round TKO victory in his US debut on HBO against Gregorz Proksa, fans were clamoring for Golovkin to get a title shot. In the wake of that victory, champion Martinez won a dominant 12 round UD over Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., though he experienced a very scary moment in the final round when Chavez caught him with a pair of left hands, sending him to canvas. Martinez was sidelined for seven months with knee and hand injuries, but claimed he would give Golovkin a shot when he was healthy. Instead, Martinez fought England’s Martin Murray in a fight no one demanded, and was lucky to win a hometown decision against the tough but limited Brit. It was another 14 months before Martinez fought again, leaving Golovkin to scrape together stay-busy fights against fringe contenders and semi-recognizable names like Gabriel Rosado, Nobuhiro Ishida, Matthew Macklin, and Curtis Stevens, along with an off-TV fight against a guy named Osumanu Adama. And in a personal tragedy, Golovkin had to cancel a fight this past April against another fringe contender, Andy Lee, because his father died. This was followed by the failed negotiation to land a much-anticipated fight with one of boxing’s top attractions, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.
Every top fighter from 160-175 lbs would like a piece of this guy.
Short of compelling opponents and fighting in a thin division, Golovkin will be facing another fringe contender in Daniel Geale tomorrow night. Geale (30-2, 16 KO) is a game, active volume puncher who employs a lot of subtle upper body movement to find openings for quick combinations he throws from unusual angles. His style is reminiscent of Vinnie Pazienza. Geale’s only losses were highly controversial split decisions to Darren Barker and Anthony Mundine, and he avenged the loss to Mundine, but the biggest accomplishment on his resume is his 2012 split decision victory over Felix Sturm in Germany, which until then was as preposterous a proposition as getting a filet mignon at White Castle.
He better have a decent pair of track shoes tomorrow.
For all of Geale’s virtues as a fighter, this is a mismatch. Not on the level of last week’s Guillermo Rigondeaux – Sod Kokietgym fight, but nonetheless this fight is ground Golovkin has been over before. Because he’s been avoided (and will likely continue to be), and he needed a name opponent on short notice, he gets a pass, but for his next fight I’d like to see him go up or down in weight to take on a bigger challenge, or at the very least aggressively haunt Cotto until he agrees to fight him.
Predicition
Take this to the bank.
The only real compelling point of this fight is the fact that Golovkin (29-0, 26 KO) has knocked out his last 16 opponents over a span of 6 years, and Geale has never been stopped. Will Golovkin be able to stop Geale? I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t. Geale isn’t a real mover; he’s got quick feet, but doesn’t generally move away from his opponents in the kind of wide arcs he’ll need to avoid Golovkin’s brutal body attack. Geale spends a lot of time in the pocket, staying in range for the most part so he can land his quick combinations from unorthodox angles. If that’s how he fights Golovkin it will be a short night. Golovkin is an excellent boxer who is capable of timing a technician and wearing down a volume puncher. I suspect Geale will try to fight his fight at first, will taste some of Golovkin’s power, particularly to the body, and will turn into a runner. But what he’ll find is that Golovkin is also adept at cutting off the ring, and when he gets Geale on the ropes, it will just be a matter of time before he tastes the canvas. If it’s a body shot that sends him down, he might be able to beat the count, but he’ll be wise not to, because he won’t be up for long, as Golovkin is as good as anyone in the sport at closing the show. I’ve got Golovkin by 3rd round KO.
Heavyweight Thunder!
Is there anybody out there who can offer this man a decent challenge? Please?
It’s been a long time since the heavyweight division has offered any excitement to anyone outside an arena full of Germans who inexplicably get juiced over watching the Klitschkos pulverize overmatched opposition. American fans have been waiting for a legitimate heavyweight contender to emerge from their soil for a long time, and their eagerness was part of what made guys like Chris Arreola, Seth Mitchell, and Deontay Wilder marketable commodities. Each of those guys has their assets as fighters, but all of them except Wilder have been proven to be, at best, gatekeepers, and Wilder might be one fight away from joining them.
He’s not the best man for the job yet, and probably won’t ever be, but he’s a likable fighter who will give anyone not named Klitschko or Stiverne problems.
Lost in this triumvirate has been Bryant Jennings. Jennings (18-0, 10 KO) is a 29 year old from Philadelphia who took up boxing late in life but has parlayed his extraordinary strength and athleticism into a so far decent career as a heavyweight boxer. With only 17 amateur fights to his credit, he lacks the background in the sport that is usually mandatory for American fighters to succeed in the long run, but in this day and age a broken down football player with a good work ethic can get the backing to make a name for himself in the sport until a solid gatekeeper shows him the ropes (see Arreola versus Mitchell). That said, it’s not hard to muster a bit of enthusiasm for Jennings. He’s an anomaly among heavyweights in that he has a pretty high work rate, he likes to mix it up and throw combinations, though he’s far from reckless. He’s got fast hands, decent power, and very good upper body movement. He fights like he’s got more boxing experience than he actually has.
“Irish” Mike Perez has put his home country of Cuba behind him. Can he put a ring tragedy behind him as well?
His opponent, “Irish” Mike Perez (20-0-1, 12 KO) was a decorated amateur who defected from Cuba to Ireland in 2007. He’s by far the most accomplished and well-schooled fighter Jennings has faced to date, and a year ago I would’ve said Jennings wasn’t ready for Perez, but a huge and tragic question mark looms over Perez and the answer to the question will likely determine the winner of this fight.
Perez was half of the one of the best heavyweight fights in several years. Unfortunately, it was one of boxing’s more heart breaking tragedies as well.
Last November, Perez won a brutal, action-packed 10 round bout on HBO versus Magomed Abdusalomov. It was one of the best heavyweight fights I’d seen in years in terms of action, and both fighters displayed immense courage. They traded heavy punches in great volume in almost every round, and while Perez began to get the better of it by the middle rounds, Abdusalomov had enough moments in each round to keep the fight competitive. It appeared Magomed (or “Mago”) had a broken jaw after the second or third round; at the very least he had significant swelling on the side of his face, and his corner appeared a little disorganized between rounds. In retrospect, just about everyone said the fight should’ve been stopped at some point by his corner, the referee, or the ringside physician, but unfortunately that’s not what happened.
The fight lasted the 10 round limit, and Perez won a UD. Afterward Abdusalomov went to the hospital with a headache, which proved to be caused be a blood clot and swelling of his brain. To reduce the swelling, he was put in a medically induced coma, and while in the coma he suffered a stroke and came very close to death. His condition has gradually improved over the course of the last nine months, but he remains in a rehab facility in Connecticut with limited physical mobility and compromised brain function. Apparently he is able to recognize family members and knows what’s going on around him, and is able to speak in short sentences. Fans all over the world wish him the best. If you’d like to make a donation to help fund his medical costs, his recovery, and help his family, here is where to do it.
Prediction
Jennings should remain undefeated and part of the heavyweight discussion.
As with all tragedies, others involved must go on with their lives, which is never easy to do. In boxing, it may be particularly difficult because it’s harder for the uninjured fighter to absolve himself from any blame. There are many examples of boxers who have severely injured or even killed their opponents in the ring and were never the same afterward. Has Mike Perez joined that group? In his only fight since the Mago fight, Perez put on a lackluster performance in January in a draw against Carlos Takam. Perez claimed afterward that the Mago tragedy hadn’t affected his performance, but that’s hard to buy, though it’s understandable why he would say it. Will it affect his performance against Jennings tomorrow? That’s the major question, and I’m thinking it will. Perez has a huge advantage in terms of experience and technical skill, but Jennings is a tough and relentless fighter, the kind of guy who would need to be physically punished and hurt to keep him from coming on. I suspect Perez no longer has what it takes to slow down or discourage a fighter of Jennings’s ilk, and Jennings will be able to outwork Perez over the course of the fight to earn a majority decision victory. Jennings by MD.
Odds & Ends
Crawford lands a sweet lead hand uppercut on the shorter Gamboa.
Terrance Crawford showed a ton of heart, skill, and grit in his brilliant fight with Yuriorkis Gamboa last month. In a fight that is a candidate for Fight Of The Year, Round Of The Year (9th), and Knockout Of The Year, Crawford delighted his hometown crowd in Omaha, Nebraska when he survived Gamboa’s early rounds onslaught, took the measure of his foe, and by late in the 4th round began to time and counter the speedy and powerful Cuban. After the 4th it was all Crawford as he dismantled the smaller man, imposed his size on him, wore him down, then knocked him down. In a thrilling 9th round, Gamboa was rocked several times, got off the canvas and fought like the devil, rocking Crawford badly before getting knocked out. It was a great fight and an electric night. Omaha might become America’s best fight town, as long as Crawford can keep winning. Congratulations to Terrance Crawford!
Canelo’s fierce body attack impressed the judges enough to carry the day.
Kudos to Canelo Alvarez for emerging victorious in his gutsy match up with crafty Cuban southpaw Erislandy Lara. Lara pot shotted and ran all night, outpointing the slow-footed Mexican idol, but Alvarez landed the harder, more significant blows over the course of the fight and I thought won a slight majority of the rounds. One judge had it 115-113 for Canelo, another 115-113 for Lara, and Levi Martinez inexplicably had it 117-111 for Canelo. I had it 116-113 for Canelo, as I scored one of the late rounds even. There’s an argument to made for Lara winning, and he tried to make that argument himself, but it’s hard to feel sorry for a guy who, if he’d thrown more than one or two punches at a time before wheeling away from the hard-charging but slow-footed Canelo, would’ve won easily. When you’re not the star attraction in a PPV event, you have to know you need to be busier than the other guy if you expect to get a decision, especially if the A-side is throwing harder punches.
Kudos to Mayweather for giving a rematch to the guy who gave him hell.
Kudos to Floyd Mayweather for offering a rematch to Marcos Maidana. Maidana provided the toughest fight Floyd has had in years. I had Maidana winning 115-114, but I can see the decision going either way. In any case, Maidana did enough to earn a rematch, and their second fight should go a long way in determining how much truth there is in Mayweather’s contention that he “chose to” fight Maidana’s fight early on, as opposed to Maidana imposing his will on Mayweather and forcing him to battle in close range along the ropes for most of the first six rounds. I boycotted the first fight, thinking (like almost everyone else) that it was a mismatch, but it appears that age might be catching up to the pound-for-pound king, as he didn’t consistently show the same kind of lateral movement he’s had in the past. We’ll see.
Finally, the fight no one has been demanding.
Speaking of boycotts, Manny Pacquiao will be fighting Chris Algieri on PPV in November. This year there might be as many as ten PPVs, but I refuse to pay to see showcase bouts and mismatches. Fans need to draw the line somewhere and be discreet with buying PPVs, otherwise we’ll be asked to hand over our money more often for less worthy fights. We’re already on the hook for two premium cable channels, why fork over an extra $70 almost every month? Even the top attractions in the sport need to know that if they’re taking an easy touch or a stay-busy fight, just do it on regular HBO or Showtime, otherwise you’ll turn the fans against you, and maybe even the sport as a whole.
The Poor Sports 