Key #2 for Marco Antonio Rubio Jab, Jab and Jab Some More
Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images
By Lou Catalano
Gennady Golovkin appears to be one of those guys you can’t really get a read on until you’re actually in there trying to survive his attack. Marco Antonio Rubio shouldn’t wait to find out what he’s got. He should jab relentlessly, if only to try and throw off Golovkin’s timing.
If he’s in a groove, Rubio is a dead man walking. If he can land the jab effectively, not only will it vastly increase his odds of survival, but it will give him a chance to land something big over the top. We haven’t really seen Golovkin take a wicked shot, let’s see if Rubio can be the one to test him.
To do that, he’ll need that left hand working overtime. Rubio does a nice job of landing the straight right after the jab, as evidenced here at about the one minute mark. Now clearly, that’s not Golovkin he’s doing that to, but you get the point. When Rubio has entered the ring as the bigger, stronger fighter, he’s done well. But when he’s not the biggest or hardest hitting dog in the fight–like with Kelly Pavlik, or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the results have been less-than-stellar. He’ll be in the same predicament with Golovkin–he won’t be the harder puncher. The simplest punch in the book will have to be his best friend.
Odds are pretty high that we’ll see another knockout win for Golovkin Saturday night on HBO. Let’s hope that Rubio can at least give him a run before succumbing to GGG’s will. We’re due for a firefight. Perhaps Golovkin is overlooking this guy. Maybe Rubio can deliver the goods. Stranger things have happened.
Key #2 for Gennady Golovkin Apply Smart Pressure
By Alex Burgos
It’s no surprise to anyone that Gennady Golovkin’s multi-dimensional attack is one of the best in the game. He unleashes hooks, uppercuts jabs and crosses–all with precision. Often times, his opponents are taken out of their game early on in a fight and by the time they realize they can’t go toe-to-toe with the crazed Kazakh, it’s too late.
It remains to be seen whether Marco Antonio Rubio will be dumb enough to try and stand and trade with GGG. If he does, GGG can bank on those hooks that I mentioned from the first key early in the fight.
But, it’s safe to assume that Rubio will be smart and try to use movement and work behind a steady jab. If that is the case, Golovkin needs to walk Rubio down (like he does most of his opponents) and apply smart pressure.
What does that mean? Well, Golovkin should work his jab just as much if not more than Rubio is going to. Golovkin doesn’t need to come out throwing everything in his arsenal in Round 1. He should work up to the three and four punch combinations and see just how willing Rubio is to engage.
Remember, Rubio is arguably the heaviest hitter Golovkin has ever faced and he has already stated that he will be looking to capitalize on Golovkin’s defensive lapses.
I liked Golovkin’s pace to start off the fight against Curtis Stevens, but even in that fight Golovkin ate a few big punches early on and was backed up at times. If Golovkin isn’t defensively responsible, he might find himself on the mat because Rubio can bang.
But if Golovkin takes his time, uses his jab to setup power punches and doesn’t leave himself open to big counters, he’ll likely add Rubio to the “Good Boy” list by the middle rounds.
