LOMA’S CRITIQUE OF GGG

Hi again, Doug!

Hope I don’t bother you with too many questions haha!!

So, there is a video where Vasyl Lomachenko criticizes Gennady Golovkin after his first Canelo Alvarez fight (he speaks in Russian there). Loma says that Golovkin was attacking using only one combination in the entire fight – jab, jab, right hook, left uppercut. I’ve always been a GGG fan but recently I also started thinking about GGG’s one-dimensional style. Sure, he is a great pressure fighter but when it comes to facing elite level opposition doesn’t Golovkin need more “boxing” skills (more head movement, more lateral/back stepping footwork, etc.)?

Was great to watch you live on Canelo vs GGG workout! – Grant

Thanks, Grant. It was fun working along side Mario Lopez and being around hundreds of diehard Golovkin and Canelo fans. I had become burnt out on this fight (due to the non-stop controversy, politics and bickering between camps and Twitter Heads) but yesterday’s public workout rekindled my interest in the matchup.

So, Loma is critical of GGG’s performance against Canelo. So what’s the big deal? Half of the boxing world was critical of how Golovkin fought Canelo – including some of his hardcore supporters. The GGG fan boys wanted to see Golovkin crush Canelo and it didn’t happen, so they wondered why he didn’t throw more body punches. The GGG detractors were delighted that he had his hands full with Alvarez (even the ones that hate Canelo) because – along with his distance fight against Daniel Jacobs – it served as “proof” that the Kazakhstan hero is “overrated.”

Photo / Tom Hogan-HoganPhotos / k2 Promotions

The truth is that Golovkin is a complete fighter but also an aging one who did well enough to outpoint two of the best boxers in the 160-pound division (at least in the view of the majority of the public). After scoring 23 consecutive stoppages, it was a bit strange witnessing him fight the full 12 but going the distance shouldn’t count against him.

I’m sure Lomachenko would have gone about boxing Canelo in a much different manner than Golovkin did – and with his otherworldly talent, I’m sure he could have attacked or dissected or diffused the Mexican superstar by a number of methods – but the Ukrainian southpaw can’t expect GGG or any other active boxer to fight with the multi-dimensions that he does. Loma’s special.

Golovkin is also special, but in a different way.

Golovkin isn’t as fast (of foot or hand), nimble or mobile as Lomachenko. But his strength and durability make up for his lack of speed and agility. And with his world-class power, he generally doesn’t need to bounce around the ring. Methodically walking down his opposition is usually the way to go for GGG, regardless of his opponent’s boxing style. (And it should be noted that Golovkin’s brute strength and pressure-fighting style is supported by sound fundamentals, expert technique/ring generalship and underrated defense.)

Will this straight-forward approach work against “elite level opposition”? Well, if you consider Canelo and Jacobs to be elite boxers, it was just enough for him to retain his title belts. If you don’t consider those two elite, maybe you think GGG would fail against a true pound-for-pound level talent (like Loma). So be it. You’re welcome to your opinion, just like Loma is. Golovkin could only fight those that were willing to step into the ring with him, and unfortunately for him, none of the top fighters in his division were willing to do so during his athletic prime.

But consider this about Golovkin and his “one-dimensional” style – he’s 36 years old and he’s still in everybody’s pound-for-pound top five. He’s been The Ring’s No. 1 middleweight since JULY 2013 and he’s STILL at the top of the 160-pound weight class. He’s gotta be doing something right. Will Lomachenko, who is 30, still be at the top of his division or the pound-for-pound rankings five or six years from now? Time will tell.

MONEY SHORT CHANGED

Dougie, good to see you are still passing along your love of the Sweetest Science to the present and future of our beloved sport. Hope all is well in your world with family and day to day endeavors. I’ve written in a couple of times in the past but its been a few years since.

The reason I’m bending yours and your readers ears this time is I think you let your dislike of Floyd Money Mayweather color your views in regards to his unmatched (during his career) boxing career. You make it seem like his whole career was this one big wool pulled over the boxing world during his 50-0 career.

Yes, I know great records don’t make great careers but no one could make him change his style or beat him. His defense and punching accuracy is unmatched in boxing history. His style of boxing might not have been everyone’s cup of tea but no one could make him change it. If you don’t like Floyd Mayweather for things outside of the ring then that’s ok but give him credit for being one of the greatest of all times inside of it. Don’t shortchange him for all the hard work he put in to be great. He was better than everyone in the ring because he worked so hard in training outside of the ring. I hope this won’t turn into a line by line war of words with your reply because I’m just asking you to consider looking at Floyd Mayweather in a different light. Take Care. – Dalton Moore, Louisville, KY

Dalton, I’m not going to waste too much of my time or this column space picking apart your Floyd-worship line by line. As respectful as you are in stating your opinions, I wouldn’t have even included this email in today’s mailbag if it wasn’t such a slow week. This subject is as boring to me as a typical Mayweather fight.

I’ll just put it to you like this: If you want to consider Mayweather an all-time great or “unmatched” go right ahead. I don’t consider him to be an all-time great and what you wrote in your email hasn’t changed my mind. My opinion has nothing to do with his awful behavior outside of the ring or his vapid personality. Sugar Ray Robinson was a total bastard outside of the ring, I don’t factor that into how or where I rank him among the greats. As I’ve said numerous times in the past, Mayweather’s all-time status (or lack of it) in my mind comes down solely to who he fought, when he fought them and what transpired in the ring. That’s it.

I do not claim that his career has been a sham. I consider him to be a future first-ballot hall of famer and one of the best boxers of his era (and you KNOW this).

PIT BULL PORTER

Hi Doug,

I pray you and your family are doing well and I pray all the people who read your mailbag and their families are doing well.

I feel Shawn Porter is going to beat the brakes off of Danny Garcia. I think Porter is underrated and Garcia is overrated. Porter is like a pit bull and a really ferocious competitor but with underrated boxing skills and I think if he utilizes his superior jab he will outbox and outfight Garcia who looked very beatable against the washed-up version of Brandon Rios.

Garcia really hadn’t impressed since he got that gift decision against the guy he fought in Puerto Rico. I think Garcia snuck up on people but they know his tendencies now. Garcia has looked lackluster and is a jack of many trades but a master of none. Porter I think will attack him with enough ferocity to beat him.

Lamont Peterson should have beat Garcia but didn’t realize it was a twelve-round and not a 6-round fight. The eye test tells me Garcia is in for a long night. I used to not like Porter but he won me over when he destroyed the white Hector Camacho (Paulie Malignaggi) who I just hate for stinking it out so many times. I also hate Maggalani for beating Baby Bull Diaz.

Porter is awkward but utilizes it to his advantage. Porter still seems like a hungry veteran like he showed against Keith Thurman when they both gave us a great fight. Garcia and Thurman was a stinkfest. We’ll see how it turns out. God bless and take care. – Blood and Guts from Philly

Thanks for checking in, B&G, and for not allowing me to sleep on Porter or his Sept. 8 showdown with Garcia. Being a west-coast guy and a friend of Tom Loeffler’s I’ve focused more on the SuperFly3 card that also takes place on Sept. 8 (at The Forum in my hometown of Inglewood) than I have the Garcia-Porter main event at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. But the welterweight matchup is a quality fight. Both Porter and Garcia are experienced ex-titleholders who are still in their athletic primes. I don’t know if their styles will mesh to make for a thriller, but it should be interesting.

I’ve viewed it as a 50-50 matchup, but your praise for Porter and derision of Garcia are making me slightly favor the likable Ohioan. We’ll see how it plays out in the ring in two weeks.

I feel Shawn Porter is going to beat the brakes off of Danny Garcia. I would be surprised if Porter dominated the fight. Garcia may not be as rugged or physical as Porter but he can match Cleveland native’s strength (and I think the Philadelphian hits harder).

I think Porter is underrated and Garcia is overrated. Who exactly is “overrating” Garcia? Showtime? I rarely hear fans praise him or read glowing articles on him from the media.

Rios lands an uppercut to Garcia. Photo by Stephanie Trapp-SHOWTIME

Porter is like a pit bull and a really ferocious competitor but with underrated boxing skills and I think if he utilizes his superior jab he will outbox and outfight Garcia who looked very beatable against the washed-up version of Brandon Rios. I don’t think Garcia looked vulnerable against Rios, but I was a little surprised that the shopworn veteran was able to have some moments against him. Maybe he was a bit rusty having been out of the ring for 11 months prior to that fight. Or maybe he overlooked Rios. Regardless, he won’t be rusty on Sept. 8 and I don’t think he will overlook Porter.

Garcia really hadn’t impressed since he got that gift decision against the guy he fought in Puerto Rico. You might be right about this, although I liked the form he exhibited toward the end of the Rios fight.

I think Garcia snuck up on people but they know his tendencies now. You might be right.

Garcia has looked lackluster and is a jack of many trades but a master of none. Until he met Thurman, I’d say he was a master of getting the “W.”

Porter I think will attack him with enough ferocity to beat him. We’ll see. If Adrian Broner can drop Porter with a hook (in the final round), I think Garcia can get some respect.

Lamont Peterson should have beat Garcia but didn’t realize it was a twelve-round and not a 6-round fight. Peterson arguably won that fight even though he didn’t press Garcia until the second half of the bout.

The eye test tells me Garcia is in for a long night. I think they both are.

I used to not like Porter but he won me over when he destroyed the white Hector Camacho (Paulie Malignaggi) who I just hate for stinking it out so many times. Malignaggi is the “white Camacho”? That’s high praise for Paulie.

I also hate Maggalani for beating Baby Bull Diaz. You should get over it. Everyone is, including Juan.

Porter is awkward but utilizes it to his advantage. True.

Porter still seems like a hungry veteran like he showed against Keith Thurman when they both gave us a great fight. That wasn’t a “great fight,” but you’re right about Porter keeping his hunger.

Email Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @dougiefischer