Photo By Jeremy Flores/Round By Round Boxing
Daniel Geale is no bum. He’s a solid fighter who has compiled a record of 30-2 against some decent competition. His only two losses were razor-thin decisions. He defeated Felix Sturm in Germany, where Sturm’s relatives might as well be judges.
Saturday night on HBO, that won’t be Felix Sturm staring back at him. Instead, it will be The Boogeyman himself.
Gennady Golovkin isn’t a mean soul. He’s affable, in fact he’s almost perpetually smiling. It makes what he does in the ring that much more disturbing. Outside, he’s a puppy dog. Inside, he’s a contract killer. There is no anger, there is no hostility, but there’s also no mercy. He’s coming to break you.
Golovkin hasn’t heard the bell of a last round since 2008. He’s ruined everything in his path, and Geale will probably have to fight the bout of his life to avoid being another notch in the KO department.
Can he stay on his feet?
He has certainly durable, proving to be quite difficult to put on the mat. He has a pretty tight defense, and while his power isn’t on the elite level, he has some pop, and he goes to the body pretty well.
He’ll need all of that and quite a bit more to survive GGG, let alone defeat him.
Maybe GGG is due for an off day. Let’s not kid ourselves–Daniel Geale is not the man Golovkin wanted to face. Earlier this year, he had zeroed in on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but Chavez balked.
Golovkin would have scored a massive payday against the popular, but vulnerable Chavez. Could he be primed for a letdown performance?
Certainly, he wouldn’t be the first fighter to have a bad day after losing out on a big time fight. He has to be aware of the fact that hardcore fans endlessly dream of matchups for him. We envision him taking on Andre Ward, Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, Floyd Mayweather, Sergey Kovalev, Wladimir Klitschko, random polar bears, and Pennywise The Clown.
Pennywise has those fangs, but GGG goes to the body REALLY well…
He hasn’t been in yet with an elite opponent, but it’s hard to blame Golovkin for it. He’s mentioned several times that he’s willing to fight anyone from 154-168, and it’s pretty easy to believe him. It just hasn’t happened yet.
But before he can get to the big fights, he has to take care of the business in front of him. Geale knows he’s the underdog, and he seems content with it. But can he actually win?
While it seems like winning would be a tall order, he has to first make sure his gameplan is tight. The gameplan is going to need to involve a ton of punches, and a lot of movement. For all of Golovkin’s skills, he is often right there to be hit. Geale will need to land often enough to slow GGG down, and then move the hell out of the way. Quickly.
Again, it’s a difficult task. Geale isn’t a slickster, and he’s not a massive banger. But he is the best fighter Golovkin has ever faced. Perhaps he can stand up to the shots that will be flying his way long enough to make it a fight.
For Golovkin, he’ll continue to do what he always does–apply intense but calculated pressure, throw vicious shots to the head and body, and attempt to break his man down. If things go as planned, he’ll be directly in the path of all the superstars in and around the middleweight division.
That’s a path very few would like to head down.
Some random notes from last weekend’s fights:
Once Emmanuel Taylor woke up and started fighting against Karim Mayfield on FNF, he looked pretty solid. He has good hand speed and seems to handle pressure pretty well. But he could have really made life easier for himself if he’d have thrown that jab more. If he gets a shot at Adrien Broner as is rumored, he’ll need to use it. Frequently.
I will always root for anyone named Cletus.
See? It’s just like I told you guys. Guillermo Rigondeaux is one hell of an exciting fighter.
Zou Shiming keeps winning easily, so why do I feel like we’re being forced to consider him a superstar in waiting? I’m not sure he ever gets there.
Poor Sod. I mean the guy didn’t even have a chance to get into the fight. But he should serve as a very clear reminder to anybody who laces up the gloves–you aren’t in there to hold hands. Protect your neck.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to dislike Chris Algieri. It will be sad to watch him eat several hundred left hands from Pacquiao.
I wish Teddy Atlas could perform every interview for everything on tv. Algieri looked like he needed a beach towel to wipe off all of Teddy’s saliva.
Larry Merchant is 147 years old, and he still provides the best commentary in the sport.
