GGG Vs. Jacobs: Big Fight Preview: Can Jacobs Spoil Gennady Golovkin's Garden Party?

 

Photo: Daily News

By Peter Silkov

On March 18, at New York’s legendary Madison Square Garden, Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33koes) hopes to be one step closer to his, often mentioned, goal of becoming the undisputed middleweight champion of the world, by adding Daniel Jacob’s (32-1, 29koes) WBA belt, to his already impressive title haul. Golovkin holds the IBF, WBC, and IBO middleweight titles, in addition to being recognized by the WBA as its ‘super’ world champion, (the same WBA which sees Jacobs as its ‘regular’ world champion.) Such is the state of the sport today unfortunately, even the world boxing bodies themselves seem to be getting confused.

Photo: Sweet Science

However, aside from the muddle of boxing politics, and the seemingly never ending chain of world titles that now envelops boxing, there are few people today that follow the sport who do not recognize Gennady Golovkin as the true number one at 160 pounds. Some might produce an argument that Canelo Alvarez is the rightful linear world champion, due to his victory over Miguel Cotto, who himself had beaten Sergio Martinez, the fighter whom previously was recognized as the true world champion at 160 pounds. Yet, the Martinez, whom Cotto beat, was an injured fighter with a ruined knee, who could barely walk, let alone fight. Then Alvarez’s own point’s defeat of Cotto was a lukewarm display, rather than the kind of impressive dynamic performance that we have come to expect from Gennady Golovkin. Alvarez’s subsequent avoidance of a showdown with Golovkin, and his decision to take on welterweight Amir Khan, then move back down to light-middleweight and fight Liam Smith for the lightly regarded WBO title, has largely nullified his claims of being the real-world champion at 160 pounds. The fact that Canelo is now due to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., on May 6^th, at a weight limit of 165 pounds, after his well-documented protestations that he is ‘not yet a full middleweight’ has made Canelo’s position even more absurd.

The bottom line is that Gennady Golovkin is currently the best fighter at 160 pounds, by quite a long way. Indeed, it is hard not to make an argument for him being one of the top fighters today pound-for-pound, at any weight. The big question is, can Daniel Jacobs do anything to change this on March 18? The fight takes place a day after St. Patrick’s Day, and Jacobs may well need a bit of the luck of the Irish against his Kazakhstan born opponent. 

One of the criticisms aimed at Golovkin is that he has ‘not fought anyone’ of significance during his career and title reign. While it is true that Golovkin hasn’t had the kind of defining fight which all great champions need to bring the best out of them, and to truly show their greatness, it is hard to find anyone that he has avoided.

Photo: The Sun

Golovkin’s resume as world champion includes solid contenders such as Martin Murray, Matthew Macklin, Gabriel Rosado, Daniel Geale, Marco Antonio Rubio, Curtis Stevens, and David Lemieux. Of course, he is waiting on Canelo Alvarez, but of course, he’s not a true middleweight, so it might be a long wait. Also, there is WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders, but he seems to be in no hurry to meet Golovkin in the ring either. Miguel Cotto is another name absent from Golovkin’s record, but once again, Cotto made no secret about his lack of enthusiasm regarding a meeting with Golovkin between the ropes.

This will be Golovkin’s 17^th defence of his world title and comes at a crucial point of his title reign. In his most recent outing, six months ago, Golovkin took on IBF welterweight title holder Kell Brook, stopping him in 5 rounds. Despite giving Brook a thorough going over, and breaking his eye socket in the process, it was not a polished performance by the champion. Furthermore, Golovkin received some strong criticism in some areas for defending his title against a ‘smaller’ man, even though the record books tell us that he was by no means the first middleweight champion to defend his title against a welterweight champion. Just four months previously Canelo Alvarez had himself demolished welterweight Amir Khan, who does not even hold a significant title at welterweight. 

Photo: Sky Sports

Despite the finality of his victory over Brook, who finished dazed and bloodied in the 5^th round, Golovkin did not look his best. His defence was sloppy and even the usual sharpness of his punches was missing. There is little doubt that against Jacobs, Golovkin will need to be as sharp as he was when he fought David Lemieux. Jacobs is a good boxer, with a dangerous punch, and Golovkin, despite his reputation of having an excellent chin, would be well-advised to sharpen up his sometimes leaky defence.

If Golovkin has a weakness, it could well be his own success. He has become accustomed to being able to walk through his opponents and at times disregard defence. It is bad habits like this that could eventually lead to Golovkin’s downfall one day, if he is not careful. There is a suspicion that his long run of title defences, along with his increasing years, has perhaps taken a little of the shine from the now 34-year-old Golovkin. Despite his image, Golovkin is human after all, and at the age of 34, it would be natural if he were starting to physically slip from his peak.  Certainly, this is something which several of his possible future opponents are only too keen to see happen.

With this in mind, it is important for Gennady Golovkin to perform against Daniel Jacobs. Saturday’s fight is a chance for Gennady to show that he is still a finely tuned fighting machine. He will not want to just win, but win impressively. Especially with a possible big showdown with the elusive Canelo Alvarez, still being constantly talked about.

Photo: Bleacher Report

When looking at Jacobs’ record, one thing that becomes clear is that his opposition has largely been a lower level than that of Golovkin’s. Jacobs’ most impressive victories have come in his last two contests, beating Sergio Mora in seven rounds, and Peter Quillin in one round. The Quillin fight especially showed that Jacobs has formidable punching power. Jacobs’ lone career defeat so far has been a July 2010 defeat to Dmitry Pirog for the WBO middleweight title, when he was stopped in 5 rounds by the promising Pirog (who never fought again due to a back injury.)  It seems unlikely that Jacobs will be able to outbox Golovkin for 12 rounds. Not only is Golovkin a far better boxer than he is generally credited for, but it is doubtful that Jacobs has the mixture of durability and boxing skills to last 12 rounds with Golovkin, and win a decision. Jacobs’ best chance of victory seems to be to land one or more of his big bombs upon Golovkin’s chin and hope that he can crack GGG’s whiskers. To do this, he must try and put Golovkin under the kind of pressure that Gennady’s previous opponents have not managed to do, and try to break the GGG man that way.  No easy task against a fighter who has barely been shook up by a punch as a professional, let alone severely hurt or knocked down.

The truth is, when he wants to, Golovkin, can dodge or ride punches with ease, and can be a much harder target to hit than is generally believed.  He is far from being simply a one-dimensional brawler with a big punch. These facets about Golovkin are the real secrets of his long-running success. Unless his recent display against Kell Brook was a real indication that he is now in decline as a fighter, Gennady Golovkin will simply have too much of everything for Daniel Jacobs on the March 18th. 

Photo: Real Combat Media

Like most of Golovkin’s fights, this is a clash which should be exciting while it lasts, but with the stronger boxing skills, the better power and superior durability, Golovkin looks certain to take Jacobs apart bit by bit, before stopping him. If Jacobs tries to box Golovkin he will last into about the 6 to 8^th rounds, but if he goes for the high-risk strategy of going toe-to-toe with Golovkin, then the chances are that he will be caught early himself, and stopped sometime in the first 3 rounds.

On March 18, Golovkin will once again show that he is a level or two above simply being just a ’good’ fighter. Of course, ironically, his main problem is that in truth he is too good for his own good. 

The Golovkin vs. Jacobs main event will be supported by a fight that may well steal the show, with Roman ’Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (46-0, 38koes) making the first defence of his WBC world super-flyweight title against Wisaksil Wangek (41-4-1, 38 koes), in a match which could well prove to be the fight of the night.

Photo: Boxing Scene

This will be Gonzalez’s first outing since he won the WBC super-flyweight crown from Carlos Cuadras, in what was one of the fights of the year for 2016, and undoubtedly the hardest fight of Gonzalez’s unbeaten career. Gonzalez became the first Nicaraguan to win a world title at 4 weights against Cuadras. Yet, he was also shown, by the slippery and speedy Cuadras, that life at the higher weight may perhaps be harder than he first thought. Although he prevailed in the end, and won a close decision over Cuadras, ‘Chocolatito’ ended the fight with his face bruised and battered, while the deposed champion remained largely unmarked. There were signs in this fight against that Gonzalez’s famed strength and power had perhaps not moved up with him from the lower flyweight division.

Against Wangek, Gonzalez will be facing a fighter with a much more straight- forward, aggressive, fighting style, which should suit him, in comparison to the flashy and slick boxing skills of Cuadras.  Yet the Thai challenger will be a formidable opponent in his own right. He is himself a former holder of Gonzalez’s WBC world title, having lost it in 2014 on a close technical decision to the same Carlos Cuadras whom Gonzalez beat for the title last year. Since that setback, Wangek has won 14 fights in a row to qualify for this shot at his old crown. Wangek is a battle-hardened fighter who recovered from losing three of his first five professional contests after he was thrown in the deep end at the start of his career against the likes of Akira Yaegashi, and Kenji Oba.

Photo:BeatsBoxingMayhem

‘Chocolatito’ usually enjoys having fighters come straight at him, and this is what Wangek is likely to do, and the hard-punching challenger will certainly test Gonzalez’s strength at this higher weight. If the lighter punching, Cuadras, could produce moments of discomfort for Gonzalez with his punches, then can the heavier punching Wangek go a step further.  The answer to this question could make for a fascinating and exciting title fight. 

Roman Gonzalez fully deserves the plaudits, that he is finally getting at this stage of his career. He is a great all-round boxer-fighter, with the kind of skills which makes you cast your mind back to the great champions of the past. He has also earned his place at the top of the pound-for-pound tree by facing all his major challengers throughout three weight divisions, over the past eight years. It is a bitter irony, that despite all this, Gonzalez still finds himself given the short end of the purses, when compared to his larger, yet far less accomplished, fellow fighters.

With this mind Gonzalez, will want to produce an impressive performance against Wangek, and set up what would be a very interesting rematch with Carlos Cuadras, that hopefully will finally bring Gonzalez some of the big purse money, which he so richly deserves.  

Gonzalez will be attempting to show that he has now become acclimatized at his new weight division against Wangek, and that the mixture of skills and strength, which he held at the lower weights, has not been depleted. This is likely to be a tough fight with some entertaining toe-to-toe encounters, but Gonzalez if he is on form, should be able to out-slick Wangek with his superior boxing skills, and slowly break him down, on the way to scoring an impressive late rounds stoppage. This is certainly a fight that will tell us whether Gonzalez is as much a force at super-flyweight, as he was at the lower weights, or has he finally taken that one step too far. 

Also on the Madison Square Garden under card:

Carlos Cuadras (35-1-1, 27koes) faces the useful David Carmona (20-3-5, 8koes) with a win a must if he is to set up a rematch with ’Chocolatito’ for later this year.

Andy Lee (34-3-1, 24koes) returns to the ring for the first time since losing his WBO world middleweight title to Billy Joe Saunders 15 months ago.  Lee faces KeAndrae Leatherwood (19-3-1, 12koes) in what is another ’must win’ fight if Lee is to get back into serious title contention.

 

 

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TBG Book Review: The Last Great Heavyweights

The Boxing Glove Sunday Night Book Review

By Peter Silkov

"The Last Great Heavyweights: From Ali & Frazier to Lewis & Tyson 

Written By Ollie Odebunmi 

It’s fair to say that no other weight division in boxing carries such a weight of historical significance and mythology as does the heavyweight division. From both, the physical to the spiritual level, the heavyweights have always held the greatest allure for the sporting public. In years gone by, the heavyweight champion of the world was an instantly recognizable figure, even amongst those who did not follow the sport of boxing. While it might be true that the fighters of the lighter weights are the better boxers, pound-for-pound, compared their larger counterparts, and often provide the better action between the ropes, it is the heavyweights who have always held the highest profile within the sport. In it’s greatest moments, the heavyweight division’s champion has held the highest profile of all sportsmen, and the world heavyweight championship was recognized as one of the most prestigious titles throughout all sport.

Sadly, though, things aren’t what they used to be. Over the past two decades’ multiple world titles, combined with a drought of talent, and a lack of competitive big fights, have seen the heavyweight division’s aura as the most important division in boxing slowly fade. The champions who were once so visible have become more and more obscure and unknown. In America, formerly the home of the division throughout most of the 20^th century, the heavyweight boxer has been on the verge of extinction. Part of this is due to the division being steadily taken over by Europeans and Eastern Europeans since the mid-90s. Since the retirement of England’s Lennox Lewis in 2004, the division has largely been ruled by Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, both of whom, despite their undoubted athletic and technical gifts, largely failed to capture the imagination of the boxing public, outside of their adopted country of Germany. 

The result is that the heavyweight division, once the most magnetic in boxing, has become a hollow entity, operating to a growing indifference of the public, and even the die-hards of the boxing establishment.

Photo: Skysports

However, there was a glimpse of hope in the past couple of years with the retirement of Vitali Klitschko, and the rise of a new generation. In America, Deontay Wilder has sparked a new flicker of interest in what was formerly the countries favourite division. In England, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, two very different men, and very different fighters, have led what might still be the beginnings of a new and brighter era for the division. When Fury defeated Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, it seemed as if the division had found a new champion whose quirky, and sometimes controversial charisma, could bring more attention and excitement to the moribund division. Unfortunately, Tyson’s subsequent out-of-the-ring issues have seen him give up his world titles, as his career has gone off the rails. The result of Fury’s problems has been that the World heavyweight title has once again become a fragmented and devalued article, with several fighters claiming a ‘world’ title at the weight. While the upcoming match between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko is undoubtedly a move in the right direction, the fact remains that the heavyweights of today have a long way to go before they can restore the division to anything like it was in the glory years.

Photo: Ali instagram

In “The Last Great Heavyweights: From Ali & Frazier to Lewis & Tyson," Ollie Odebunmi takes us back to when the heavyweight division still carried its weight in excitement and talent, and produced epic world class encounters on a regular basis. Fights that have become part of boxing history. Perhaps the measure of how hypnotic the sport’s heaviest division has been, at its best, can be seen in how the history so easily intertwines with the lives of those following it. Ollie takes us on a journey from the heavyweight division’s greatest era of the 1970s, down to the close of Lennox Lewis‘ career. Ollie’s own fascination with boxing, and primarily the heavyweights, began in 1971, when he watched Joe Frazier defeat Muhammad Ali, in their never to be forgotten first encounter. This fight sparked a fascination with both the sport of boxing, and especially the heavyweight division, which has stayed with Ollie Odebunmi to this day.

The 70s have often been called the division’s golden era, and Odebunmi illustrates why with a deft recollection of the rivalries between Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Ken Norton; as well as a host of other names from that time.  This is a very personal book, with Odebunmi placing the classic encounters of these great fighters into the context of his own life at that time. We experience, through Ollie’s eyes, as these great fighters defend, lose, or regain the richest prize in the sport. 

As well as reliving his own personal circumstances when witnessing these often-epic encounters, Odebunmi gives some great insights into the inner world of these various fighters, including his views on what is happening beneath the surface in these fights.  We are reminded that boxing is as much a mental endeavor as it is physical. Ollie is a man who understands fighters and has a good feel for both, the athletic and psychological aspects, of the sport.

As the era of Ali and Frazier fades, we meet Larry Holmes, and then, Mike Tyson.  ’Iron Mikes’ rise and fall is expertly recollected by Odebunmi. As is the rise of Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, and Lennox Lewis. As we enter the late 80s, and then the 90s, we can see the gradual tarnishing of the sport’s most valuable prize. The world title begins to regularly splinter into multiple champions and top level showdowns become an increasing rare event.

Photo:Newsday

Odebunmi does a good job of intertwining the stories of Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe, and Lewis. We have Tyson’s almost Shakespearian story of triumph and defeat, his rise and fall in the 80s and early 90s, followed by his return and then yet another, even more devastating, fall from the top. Then there is the indomitable Evander Holyfield, defying expectations again and again, and the brief brilliance, and wasted promise of Riddick Bowe. Lennox Lewis’s determined rise to the top is told with some good insight from Odebunmi, as we see Lewis develop from a seemingly unremarkable young professional, into the undisputed world champion. 

Photo: Boxrec

The climatic fight of “The Last Great Heavyweights: From Ali & Frazier to Lewis & Tyson"  is Lewis’s demolition of a faded Mike Tyson, in what was to be the pinnacle of his career. Lewis would have one more fight, his brutal and bloody victory over Vitali Klitschko, before he chose to walk away from the sport while still undisputed champion. What has followed in the division since has, unfortunately, been largely forgettable. This is illustrated by Odebunmi’s brief sketch of the decade following the retirement of Lewis.

Odebunmi does mention Anthony Joshua briefly in the closing pages of this book.  At this point, Joshua had only just turned professional. Armed with an Olympic gold medal, and had fought only once, but already had shown the kind of raw promise, which followers of boxing’s one time greatest division are always searching to find.

Weighing in with 302 pages, “The Last Great Heavyweights: is a fast-moving and entertaining read by someone who has a great ability to transfer his insight and enthusiasm for the subject into his writing. While some photos would have been nice, their absence should not be a deal breaker. This is an excellent book for anyone who has any interest in the golden days of the heavyweight division, whether you want to read about Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Tyson, and Holyfield for the first time, or else relive the past through Odebunmi’s own personal experiences. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself digging out your old copies (or going to You Tube) to re-watch some of the great encounters that occurred between these fighters. Odebunmi has recalled an era that is unlikely ever to be matched, let alone surpassed. It was a time when the heavyweight division genuinely was the ’heaviest’ division in boxing. Alas today, it is the heaviest only in physical weight, rather than world class substance. 

Yet, we can always hope for a better future.

Ollie Odebunmi has his own website:  www.ollieodebunmi.com and can also be reached on two face book pages.  www.facebook.com/ollieodebunmiauthor and www.facebook.com/fightgamelegends  

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If you are an author and you would like your book reviewed, contact Peter Silkov at petersilkov@yahoo.com or theboxingglove@yahoo.com

 

Copyright © 2017 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved.