Nobody really knows what to expect from this encounter, primarily because nobody can really know what to expect from Golovkin?
It would be great to say that we had all the pertinent info at hand when it comes to predicting a winner for the upcoming Saul Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin bout. But that would be a lie.
The fact of the matter is that nobody really knows what to expect from this encounter, primarily because nobody can really know what to expect from Golovkin.
The Kazakh KO artist?s opposition has been so uncomplicated, so utterly made for him, stylistically, that it?s nearly impossible to make a smart prediction as to what to expect.
In his last two fights, glimpses of vulnerable humanity could be seen in the Triple G machine. It wasn?t age?Golovkin is a young 35 in boxing years, hardly touched up, and not even challenged all that much in 37 pro fights. Physically, Golovkin is fine and will walk into this Saturday?s fight as fresh as he was when he first tore through Grzegorz Proksa five years ago in his HBO debut.
Golovkin looked unGolovkin-like at times against Kell Brook and Daniel Jacobs because he was matched against styles, skills, and mindsets unlike any others he had seen before in the ring.
Brook?s hand speed was enough to handcuff him at times and, if not for the fact that it was, literally, a middleweight vs. welterweight match-up, Golovkin may have had real problems down the line against someone able to touch him at will. As it was, though, Brook couldn?t hurt Golovkin and the larger fighter merely walked through the smaller opponent, breaking his face en route to a stoppage victory.
Against Jacobs, Golovkin met up with a physically large, athletically gifted fighter with strong legs who could stick to a somewhat coherent game plan. Make no mistake about it, Jacobs did not execute genius strategy in befuddling Golovkin at times. He was merely moving and failing to fall in line with what Golovkin was brought along to expect in an opponent. Many observers, including this writer, actually had Jacobs winning the bout. But even if the decision in Triple G?s favor was a proper and just one, Golovkin didn?t look like GOLOVKIN and it was proof positive, if such a thing needed proof positive, that much of what made the man a monster had to with who he was matched against.
It?s true that the same can be said about any fighter, really. Opposition matters and styles also matter. But the Golovkin career route highlights this point at an extreme level. Up until his last two fights, Golovkin has been in one stylistically favorable match-up after another, booked against fighters either ill-equipped to handle his power and aggression and/or ill-suited to do anything about it.
It says a lot that it took thirty-seven pro fights and nineteen world title fights to finally find out what would happen when Golovkin meets someone not 100% built to lose to him. It also says a lot about just how hard it may be to make an accurate assessment of just how good he is.
Canelo Alvarez is not a pure boxer, not a mover, not a true thinker in the traditional boxing sense, but he can do a lot of those things better than just about anyone Golovkin has faced in the past. The 27-year-old Mexican star is the best all-around fighter Gennady has ever had to deal with and, while not truly stellar in any one area, he can do almost everything very, very well. Toss in a level of concentration second to none, laser-sharp focus, and the supreme confidence of an elite-level star?and Alvarez is a very tough character to beat.
What will happen when Triple G meets up with someone who can move well enough to avoid many of his best shots and then stop on a dime, stand in the pocket, and confidently shoot back counters? What will happen when Triple G meets someone brave and confident enough to crowd him and rip thudding body shots to the gut?
We don?t know the answer to any of these questions or to any questions regarding Golovkin?s ability to adapt and fight back against a real, live foe.
None of this means that Golovkin won?t prove himself to be as good as years? worth of mega-positive press clippings have told us. It just means that we honestly don?t know much about this guy who, despite a long and accomplished amateur career and an eighteen-bout world title reign, has not really had to show all that much in becoming a media darling and a widely-regarded ?all-time great? at 160.
Saturday, we?ll know a lot more about who Gennady Golovkin really is.
