A story that has continued to garner significant interest in
the sport of Boxing in recent years has been the emergence of undefeated
unified WBA/IBO Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin. A fighter who has
simply carved out a path of destruction in the Middleweight division since
becoming world champion in 2010.
Golovkin, a native of Kazakhstan has scored seventeen
consecutive knockouts and successfully defended his world title eleven times.
What has made Gennady Golovkin such a devastating force has been his seek and
destroy pressure style that few opponents have been able to withstand. In
thirty professional fights Golovkin has scored twenty-seven knockouts
registering a career knockout percentage of 90%. Most recently, a title defense
this past July, Golovkin scored a third round knockout of former two-time
Middleweight world champion Daniel Geale at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
In that fight not only was Golovkin’s power on full display,
but he also showed the ability to take a punch. The champion would end the
fight by dropping Geale with a right hand that sent the “Game” former champion
down to the canvas. What stood out about this fight’s conclusion was not only
the devastating manner in which it ended, but also the fact that it came in an
exchange of right hands between the two fighters. Golovkin was not only able to
knock out Geale, a fighter who had never been stopped previously in his career,
but he did so as he absorbed a flush right hand from the challenger. Despite
being struck by Geale’s right hand, Golovkin still maintained enough power in
his own punch to end the fight.
In my post-fight coverage of Golovkin’s seventeenth
consecutive knockout and eleventh successful title defense, I stated that I
believe the time has come for Golovkin to face fighters who are considered top
stars. Although my opinion remains the same, Golovkin will have one more test
to pass before fights against fighters who are considered marquee attractions
can be discussed. The test that awaits the champion could possibly be the most
dangerous to date. The challenger? Marco Antonio Rubio.
Rubio, a veteran of sixty-six professional fights has been a
long time contender in both the Jr. Middleweight and Middleweight divisions and
has twice fought for a world title. Much like Golovkin, Rubio is a pressure
fighter who is known for his punching power. Much like the champion, the
challenger has in his own right shown an ability to compile knockout streaks
and has himself registered an impressive career knockout percentage of nearly
78% having scored fifty-one knockouts in fifty-nine career wins.
Although Rubio has come up short in his previous two shots
at a world title against Kelly Pavlik and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., he is
definitely not someone to overlook and should be viewed as extremely dangerous.
The question that I have as this fight approaches is what kind of fight could
this look like? Conventional wisdom suggests based on not only each fighter’s
style, but more importantly each fighter’s punching power that both fighters
will be looking to trade punches right from the opening bell. Even though this
fight has all the makings of a tailor-made shootout between two power punchers,
it will be interesting to see if either fighter changes his approach and begins
this fight at a tactical pace perhaps in thinking that the other is expecting
his opponent to go toe to toe from the outset.
It will be interesting to see how the champion will respond
should he get hit flush by Rubio as he did in his last fight against Daniel
Geale. Although no one can take anything away from the valiant effort Geale put
forth against Golovkin, an argument can be made that Rubio hits harder than
Geale, who is a highly skilled boxer, but is not known for his punching power.
It will however, be of equal interest to see how Rubio will
respond to Golovkin’s power, particularly if Rubio were to get caught in exchanges
with the champion. Rubio has been caught before while in an exchange and that
ultimately led to his downfall.
Some may remember Rubio’s encounter with Kofi Jantuah in
September 2004 on the undercard of Bernard Hopkins vs. Oscar De La Hoya in Las
Vegas. A fight where Rubio entered having knocked out his previous fifteen opponents,
this fight would end almost as suddenly as it began. In an exchange of left
hooks between Rubio and Jantuah, it would be Jantuah’s that would land flush on
Rubio’s chin knocking him down and out in just thirty-three seconds of the
first round.
Although some may be tempted to view Rubio’s loss to Jantuah
as a possible scenario of how this fight could play out, it is important to
remember that the fight between Rubio and Jantuah occurred ten years ago and it
was a scenario where two fighters each threw power punches, and Jantuah’s punch
simply got to Rubio before Rubio’s punch could land. It was a case of a punch
that landed right on the button, but a scenario that could have easily gone the
other way. To his credit, Rubio did bounce back from what was a devastating
knockout loss to challenge for a world title twice in his career after that
fight and has remained a top contender in the years since.
Nevertheless it will be interesting to see if Rubio keeps in
mind how Golovkin’s last fight ended in that although he was hit flush in an
exchange, he was still able to land the knockout blow after absorbing that
punch. Although there may be some who believe that this fight is destined to
end in a knockout, it would not surprise me if a tactical fight takes place.
An interesting question that will emerge coming out of this
fight will be what could be in store for the winner. With WBC Middleweight
world champion Miguel Cotto not expected to fight until sometime in 2015, the
newly crowned IBF world champion Jermain Taylor’s legal problems at least
temporarily delaying what could be a fight between Taylor and IBF number one
contender and former world champion Hassan N’Dam, and the recently vacated WBO
world championship being vacated by the undefeated Peter Quillin, it will be
interesting to see how the winner of this fight will factor into the equation.
The main storyline of this fight however, is an undefeated
unified world champion’s ongoing path of destruction against a fighter who
could well be looking at this fight as his last chance to win a world
championship. No matter what happens when Golovkin and Rubio meet at the
StubHub Center in Carson, California on Saturday night, whomever should emerge
victorious, this observer believes that the ingredients are there for what just
may be a great fight.
“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”
The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison
All Rights Reserved.
