Gennady Golovkin vs. Matthew Macklin
This Saturday night HBO will televise a very solid tripleheader, albeit one with a lot of names casual boxing fans may not recognize. If this were a PPV card it would be dubbed "Remember The Name." The one name fans should know by now is slugger Gennady Golovkin who headlines the card against Matthew Macklin in a 12 round middleweight title fight.
The reason Golovkin is now such a recognizable name is because of his legendary punching power. He has such tremendous one punch knockout power that his last thirteen fights have ended early either by knockout or technical knockout. Golovkin has a perfect record of 26-0 with 23 knockouts and the three fights that didn't end in a stoppage all went to Golovkin via unanimous decision. He holds a knockout percentage 88.46% which is one of, if not highest knockout percentage in the sport. Golovkin goes by the nickname "GGG" but he could easily use the moniker "The Baby Faced Assasin" because he looks like he is about 15 years old but throws punches like a miniature Mike Tyson. Golovkin likes to keep steady pressure on his opponent, stalking him around the ring and landing big heavy punches. He doesn't yet have elite defensive skills and has been touched up from time to time, but it hasn't been a major problem yet. That is because his opponents have to show so much respect for the power of Golovkin that they have to think defense first, and never really can launch a worthy offensive attack of their own. Golovkin has fought some solid opponents but Macklin should be his toughest test thus far.
Most big time boxing fans have also seen Macklin fight before. He has been on HBO when he fought Sergio Martinez in a very good tough fight that Macklin eventually lost in the 11th round. So while this fight will be Golovkin's toughest test, that will not be the case for Macklin. That could greatly help him considering he has already seen the king of the middleweight division. Macklin is a fun fighter to watch because he does everything well but nothing great. He has good punching power, although it isn't the same one punch knockout power that Golovkin has, Macklin possesses the break you down type power. Meaning he wears his opponent down with hard punches and then eventually puts them out of their misery. He also moves well in the ring, especially his head movement which he will need to do well against Golovkin. But Macklin isn't a defensive wizard which leaves him open to get hit, also he is a very tough kid who doesn't mind a good close range, bombs away type fight. Macklin has a pretty good record of 29-4 with 20 knockouts. Two of those losses came early in his career so not much stock is put into those, and his other two losses came against elite fighters Martinez and Felix Sturm. If Macklin is a tough as he was against Martinez this could be a very exciting fight.
Golovkin, as he always does, will look to end the fight before the final bell. Against the extremely tough Gabriel Rosado it took Golovkin 7 rounds before Rosado's corner threw in the towell. Rosado was landing some nice heavy punches to the face of Golovkin but didn't have any defensive strategy. If Macklin proves to be as tough as Rosado he could frustrate Golovkin because Macklin is much more skilled than Rosado. It should be a good fight that earns both fighters a larger fan base.
PREDICTION: Gennady Golovkin will remain perfect in a tougher fight then most people expect. Golovkin will earn that win by the way of 9th round stoppage.
The reason Golovkin is now such a recognizable name is because of his legendary punching power. He has such tremendous one punch knockout power that his last thirteen fights have ended early either by knockout or technical knockout. Golovkin has a perfect record of 26-0 with 23 knockouts and the three fights that didn't end in a stoppage all went to Golovkin via unanimous decision. He holds a knockout percentage 88.46% which is one of, if not highest knockout percentage in the sport. Golovkin goes by the nickname "GGG" but he could easily use the moniker "The Baby Faced Assasin" because he looks like he is about 15 years old but throws punches like a miniature Mike Tyson. Golovkin likes to keep steady pressure on his opponent, stalking him around the ring and landing big heavy punches. He doesn't yet have elite defensive skills and has been touched up from time to time, but it hasn't been a major problem yet. That is because his opponents have to show so much respect for the power of Golovkin that they have to think defense first, and never really can launch a worthy offensive attack of their own. Golovkin has fought some solid opponents but Macklin should be his toughest test thus far.
Most big time boxing fans have also seen Macklin fight before. He has been on HBO when he fought Sergio Martinez in a very good tough fight that Macklin eventually lost in the 11th round. So while this fight will be Golovkin's toughest test, that will not be the case for Macklin. That could greatly help him considering he has already seen the king of the middleweight division. Macklin is a fun fighter to watch because he does everything well but nothing great. He has good punching power, although it isn't the same one punch knockout power that Golovkin has, Macklin possesses the break you down type power. Meaning he wears his opponent down with hard punches and then eventually puts them out of their misery. He also moves well in the ring, especially his head movement which he will need to do well against Golovkin. But Macklin isn't a defensive wizard which leaves him open to get hit, also he is a very tough kid who doesn't mind a good close range, bombs away type fight. Macklin has a pretty good record of 29-4 with 20 knockouts. Two of those losses came early in his career so not much stock is put into those, and his other two losses came against elite fighters Martinez and Felix Sturm. If Macklin is a tough as he was against Martinez this could be a very exciting fight.
Golovkin, as he always does, will look to end the fight before the final bell. Against the extremely tough Gabriel Rosado it took Golovkin 7 rounds before Rosado's corner threw in the towell. Rosado was landing some nice heavy punches to the face of Golovkin but didn't have any defensive strategy. If Macklin proves to be as tough as Rosado he could frustrate Golovkin because Macklin is much more skilled than Rosado. It should be a good fight that earns both fighters a larger fan base.
PREDICTION: Gennady Golovkin will remain perfect in a tougher fight then most people expect. Golovkin will earn that win by the way of 9th round stoppage.
Thomas Oosthuizen vs. Brandon Gonzales
The fight that will lead us into Saturday's main event will be a bout between two undefeated fighters. That is a fight between the South African Thomas "Tommy Gun" Oosthuizen and northern California native Brandon Gonzales. It will be a 10 round bout in the super middleweight division and by the end of the fight someones unbeaten record will fall.
Of the two fighters the one with the higher ceiling is Oosthuizen. He is only 25 years old and at 6'4'' is one of the tallest super middleweights in the sport. He fights with his hands somewhat low but it isn't very dangerous because he is so tall most smaller fighters focus on his body. The best weapon Oosthuizen possesses is a stiff arm of a jab that he shoots almost from his hip with bad intentions. Oosthuizen has a career record of 21-0-1 with 13 knockouts. He isn't the most skilled boxer in the world but he is very smart using his jab and height to create space and land punches from the outside. Which might be easier said than done against the well built Gonzales.
Gonzales isn't the tallest guy in the world but he is built like a brick wall. He is also unbeaten with a record of 17-0 with 10 knockouts. The best part of his game has to be his steadfast attack and punching. He likes to continuously walk forward and throws punches from all over the place. His best punch may be a short uppercut he uses on the inside. It may be hard for him to figure out the much taller Oosthuizen but if Gonzales works the body early he could cause Oosthuizen to focus on protecting his body and force him to bring his head down and fighter lower. Which could be deadly against the uppercut of Gonzales.
This fight will mean a lot to both men. Neither fighter will want to lose his unbeaten record which should make for a fun fight for big time boxing fans. If this fight takes place in a phone booth Gonzales will be the favorite due to his good body punching and strong uppercut. However if Oosthuizen successfully uses his jab and keeps the fight on the outside he could easily control the action. It should be a very solid fight with a lot of implications on the future.
PREDICTION: This will be a good fight and Gonzales will do some damage at times on the inside. But Thomas Oosthuizen will be too tall and have too long of a reach for Gonzales to do any sustained damage. Oosthuizen will get a win via unanimous decision.
Willie Nelson vs. Luciano Cuello
The first fight of the night is one that should not be missed. It will showcase rising talent Willie Nelson taking on the Argentine Luciano Cuello in a 10 round junior middleweight fight. This could be the coming out party for Nelson but fans will also learn if Cuello is just a tough stepping stone for young fighters or if he is a legit contender.
Big time boxing fans probably remember Nelson best from his last fight which was televised on Friday Night Fights on ESPN2. In that fight he took on Michael Medina and absolutely destroyed him with a right hand that dropped him, then followed it up with a few punches to drop him again and get the TKO victory. Nelson has a strong record of 20-1-1 with 12 knockouts and since his first loss in 2006 he is 4-0 with two knockouts. He can get touched up from time to time but he has heavy hands and is a very patient fighter. He will let his opponent do a lot of work and than land some heavy shots of his own. A lot of people are very high on this kid, especially Lou DiBella who said he could knockout Canelo Alvarez. But Cuello hopes he can put a stop to the rising talent.
Cuello's career is at a crossroads. It is still unclear whether he can be a legit contender or just a stepping stone for younger fighters to cut their teeth against. He does hold an impressive career record of 32-2 with 16 knockouts and has been in the ring with two of the most talented men in the sport, Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and he has stopped his opponent early in four of his last six fights. But Cuello doesn't seem to take a punch very well and can be moved around the ring by a heavy handed fighter, which Nelson is. If Cuello wants to pull of the upset he may want to fight like his countrymen Sergio Martinez instead of Marcos Maidana or Lucas Matthysse. If he gets into a phone booth fight chances are that he gets dropped but if he can stick and move and stay on the outside he has a chance to outbox Nelson.
This should be a fun fight to watch especially for people wondering what the future holds for Nelson. If he plans on rising in the rankings he needs to look impressive against Cuello who Nelson's promoters obviously view as a stepping stone. What Cuello needs to do is take offense to being used as a catapult for a younger fighter and use that to motivate himself into fighting the bout of his career. If Cuello were to beat Nelson it would certainly open some eyes.
PREDICTION: Willie Nelson will be too strong for Cuello. I have Nelson winning via unanimous decision.
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