Most people, including the HBO brass, believe Golovkin will do to Rubio what he does to everyone else, which is to knock him out?
Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, WBA/IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs), from Stuttgart, Germany, by way of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, makes his West Coast debut against Marco Antonio Rubio, (59-6-1, 51 KOs), the seasoned veteran from Torreon, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico.
Golovkin is being groomed for superstardom and is the betting favorite going in. Rubio may be durable, but durability is a mixed blessing when measured against Golovkin?s power. The last time someone took Golovkin the distance was in 2008. Since then, 17 fighters have failed to go the distance.
Golovkin is the real deal. He may not be a perfect fighter, of which there have been but a handful over the centuries, but he?s immensely talented. He can dispose opponents with either hand. He?s also a smart executioner who cuts off the ring and plays the angles like a pool shark.
Rubio has fought several fine fighters over the years, but he?s never fought anyone as fine as Golovkin, nor is he likely to fight anyone as fine as Golovkin again.
If Rubio can wade through the heavy artillery, he may be able to extend Golovkin into the championship rounds. Rubio is nothing if not experienced. But other experienced fighters had blueprints to beat Golovkin, blueprints that proved worthless when the bombs started landing.
Rubio also has power, as his record indicates, and Golovkin can be hit. Curtis Stevens, Gabriel Rosado, and Matthew Macklin caught Triple G several times, before they went down in a blaze of glory. But Rubio is a higher caliber fighter than the aforementioned trio. And unlike the very capable Daniel Geale, Golovkin?s last opponent, Rubio can hurt a man if he catches him.
Most people, including the brass at HBO, who is televising the fight, believe Golovkin will do to Rubio what he does to everyone else he faces, which is to separate them from their senses. One dissenting voice is that of Rubio?s trainer, Robert Garcia. Trainers say what they say and what they say needs to be taken with a grain of salt. But Garcia thinks Golovkin?s come-forward style is ready-made for his Mexican fighter.
We?ll see about that.
Also on Saturday?s card, reigning and defending WBA featherweight champion Nonito Donaire (33-2, 21 KOs), from San Leando, California, by way of Talibon, Bohol, Philippines, is in a tough against unbeaten Nicholas Walters (24-0, 20 KOs), the powerhouse from Montego Bay, Jamaica.
?Donaire is a very good champion,? said Walters. ?He may seem like a complete fighter, but I?m going to knock him out. But you know what? Donaire stepped up and took this fight. He didn?t have to. For that, I respect him for getting in the ring with me.?
The third fight of the night features Edwin Rodriguez (24-1-0, 16 KOs), from Worcester, Massachusetts, fighting Azea Augustama (17-1, 9 KOs), a Haitian fighting out of Hollywood, Florida. Rodriguez is moving up to light heavyweight for this 10-rounder. It will be his first fight since being bested by Andre Ward last November. Augustama hasn?t lost a fight in over three years.
