INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA (May 16) ? Boxing star, Gennady ?GGG? Golovkin made his return to the ring for the second time in 2015 to face slick boxer and Boxcino tournament winner, Willie Monroe Jr. Recognized as the best middleweight in the division, Golovkin carried the IBO, WBA and interim WBC titles into the thirty-third fight of his career as he continues his ascension in the sport. The legendary Forum in Inglewood, California played host to this twelve round fight, in front of a near sold out arena.
As round one began, the southpaw Monroe came out on his toes, circling Golovkin and pumping his jab out. Not known as a knockout specialist, Monroe?s strengths are in his ability to box, and his best bet would be to avoid the power of Golovkin and try to win a boxing match. Gennady Golovkin looked to cut off the ring and corner Monroe. Golovkin managed to sneak in a pair of punches, none of which landed cleanly but they were enough to win him the round.
In the second round, ?GGG? came out with more intent and got Monroe up against the ropes. While Monroe sat on the ropes, Golovkin timed a perfect left hook which clipped the jaw on Monroe and sent him to the canvas. Willie Monroe beat the count but was in rough shape. Not having his legs back under him, Monroe attempted to keep Golovkin at bay by firing back shots of his own, this only gave Golovkin another opportunity to land more blows. After eating a series of punches, Willie Monroe was again sent to the floor. As the round winded down, Golovkin swarmed and looked for the finish, but was unable to land a finishing shot.
Monroe was on his bike to start round three, in survival mode. The unbeaten Golovkin came out hunting for a knockout, while also working the body as he normally does so well. ?The Mongoose? fired back with some body shots of his own, but overall was not as active as the champ. To the credit of Monroe, he recovered enough to survive another round.
Willie Monroe came out to the fourth round and rather than using his footwork like he had attempted to in the earlier rounds, he stood his ground and attacked Golovkin. Surprisingly, Monroe was able to have success and even tee?d off on ?GGG? on a couple of occasions. Golovkin waved New York native in and allowed him to get off a few more combinations in. Gennady appeared to be content to exchange with Monroe, but was not doing it with same intensity as in previous rounds and thus let Willie Monroe back in the fight.
Gennady Golovkin picked up the pace in the fifth round and out of the gates landed a hard uppercut which wobbled the legs of Monroe. The end looked near once more but Golovkin did not follow up and allowed ?The Mongoose? to get his bearing back. Monroe connected with a few more clean shots while Golovkin appeared to be overly patient.
Golovkin charged out of the gates in the sixth round and again landed a left uppercut which stunned Monroe. This time Golovkin looked to close the show. Landing a series of thudding blows, Gennady Golovkin sent Monroe to the canvas for the final time. Willie beat the count but was on unsteady legs and indicated to referee Jack Riess that he was unable to continue. The TKO 6 win marked Golovkin?s 20th consecutive stoppage win and now takes his record to a perfect 33-0 with 30 KO?s.
The final Compubox scores showed Gennady Golovkin dominating with 133 total punches landed, landing at a 45% connect rate. As for Willie Monroe, he landed 87 total punches at a 29% connect rate. The volume and power of Golovkin proved to be too much, and it displayed why he is the best fighter in the middleweight division.
With the victory, Golovkin showed that he is still the most dominant middleweight in the world, but also a fighter that may have some vulnerabilities. Monroe, while over matched did have some success and showed that Golovkin can be hit by fighters of lesser talent and skill. Most people would like to see a fight happen between Golovkin and Miguel Cotto next, but even though ?GGG? holds a portion of the WBC crown, Cotto is unlikely to take that risk. Another possible fight would be a match between Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, but again it is a fight that fans are unlikely to see with Canelo being a budding PPV star and Golovkin being more risk then reward.
The fight that we could see toward the end of 2015 is the long talked about fight with Andre Ward. Ward is set to make his return to the ring after an 18 month absence when he takes on former title challenger Paul Smith on June 6th in his hometown of Oakland. The fight is expected to be a tune up for Ward and could possibly set the stage for fall showdown between him and Golvokin. Ward not only would present a size disadvantage for Golovkin, but he would also create a stylistic problem as well. Golovkin has done well against the level of competition he has faced, but Ward is widely considered one of the best boxers in the sport and he might be able to expose more of the weaknesses that Golovkin has shown in defense if the two ever meet in the ring.
Even with those possible options being out there for Golvokin, the same problems remains, as he is considered far to dangerous for any of those fighters to immediately face him in the ring. He is far and away the best talent in the middleweight division and the division lacks any real threats to him. He has to look at weight classes above and below to fight anyone that might be a threat, while also being a highly marketable bout. The fight with Monroe might have opened up some of those doors, as while he did show a good chin as always, but ?GGG? has some holes in his defense and can be hit cleanly.
The one option could present itself is a fight against Andy Lee. Lee won a vacant WBO belt late in 2014 and is coming off of a draw with Peter Quillin. Lee had agreed to a fight with ?GGG? last year, but Golovkin pulled out of the fight due to the passing of his father. A fight between Lee and Golovkin would give the division a chance for unification and present ?GGG? with a little risk, as Lee does have punch and Golovkin has shown that he can be hit. No matter what direction Gennady Golovkin goes in next, he has proven time and time again that he is one of most exciting boxers in the sport, and has the proof in the numbers, as it?s 20 straight knockouts and counting.
