Gennady Golovkin aka GGG is a throwback fighter who has garnered comparisons to Marvin Hagler and even Mike Tyson. His destructive power, timing on his jab and his ability with his footwork to cut the ring off vaulted him to 23 straight knockouts before his UD win over Danny Jacobs this past March.
A big question when it comes to GGG is his level of opposition. While he owns 3 of the 4 middleweight belts, some feel he hasn’t faced a big name opponent who has challenged him. In his defense, many fighters at middleweight have stayed far away from Golovkin leaving him to fight whoever is available. No matter the opinion, the discipline to maintain a streak of knockouts isn’t an easy feat, and in March for the first time in a Golovkin fight, we finally had questions.
Yes, Danny Jacobs came into the ring fight night with an estimated 15-pound weight advantage, along with a height advantage to help absorb punches, and although GGG knocked him down early, Jacobs was able to recover and began to win a few of the mid rounds. Jacobs’s movement seemed to frustrate Golovkin and as a result, while he deserved the victory, it was the awe performance we are used to seeing.
I believe the lack of motivation for his fight with Jacobs played a result in his not so excellent performance in March, however next week against Canelo Alvarez in a fight Golovkin has been waiting years for, I expect to see the best of GGG. Golovkin is an amazing fighter, that doesn’t make him great quite yet. A win over Canelo Alvarez won’t just confirm that Golovkin is great; his performance will display truly how great he is.
