Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Geale
It's no secret that the boxing world has many hardcore fans who follow the sport on a daily basis. It is also no secret that the sport has numerous casual fans who only watch a few fights a year and may not appreciate the intricacies of the sweet science. What casual fans do love is knockouts and the quickest way to become a star in the boxing world is to provide them with the knockouts they so desire. That is what Gennady Golovkin has done and what he will look to continue to do this Saturday as the headliner on a deep HBO card. Golovkin will be faced with the toughest test of his career when he takes on the rugged Daniel Geale in a 12 round middleweight fight for Golovkin's WBA title.
 |
| Golovkin has the kind of power not often seen |
Golovkin was Big Time Boxing's 2013 runner-up for Fighter of the Year and he got there mainly due to his incredible knockout power. Golovkin is an orthodox fighter who uses his jab to stay lose and find the range for his power punches. He has the type of power that as soon as he lands some heavy leather his opponents seem to wither and want no part of him. For such a heavy hitter Golovkin does a nice job of remaining calm and slowly walking his opponents down, landing anything they give him. It would be easy for such a powerful fighter to get to aggressive and forget his game plan but Golovkin doesn't do that. On offense Golovkin seems to have every tool in his toolbox. He has a nice right hand he likes to dig to the body and he throws a good uppercut with either hand but those aren't his best punches. Golovkin's money maker is his deadly left hook which will ends fights whether he takes it to the body or upstairs. The only real question surrounding Golovkin now is his defense. Against Curtis Stevens he took some clean punches upstairs and even got backed up a few times. Geale should be able to test the defense of Golovkin but he may get reluctant if Golovkin lands a few clean left hooks.
As a professional Golovkin has been perfect. His career record stands at 29-0 and 26 of those wins have come by the way of knockout. Simply put Golovkin may be the hardest puncher in the sport today. While Golovkin hasn't yet faced an elite opponent he does have some nice wins over Gregorz Proksa, Gabriel Rosado, Matthew Macklin, and Stevens on his resume. While Geale isn't the most powerful puncher he has faced he is probably the most well rounded and should be able to give Golovkin a tough test, especially since he has never been knocked out.
Geale might hang his hat on the fact that he has never been knocked out but the problem is that he has been knocked down five times in his career and against a fighter like Golovkin it won't be so easy to get up. In this bout Geale will be the one with the better footwork and while Golovkin is more aggressive Geale is no slouch himself and cuts off the ring nicely. Geale also has a good accurate jab and throws his combinations well. Geale may have the faster hands in this fight and his straight right comes in very well. Something Geale has always done well is put in a ton of body work and that could pay dividends against Golovkin who hasn't faced an opponent who has focused their attack mainly on his body. The problem for Geale is that he fights the best on the inside which is a dangerous place to be with Golovkin unless he can get so far inside that he can smother his punches. If Geale's defense is good enough to get him into the late rounds it could be an interesting fight.
While he may not be the biggest name in the sport Geale has had a good career and his record of 30-2 with 16 knockouts backs that up. Of those two losses one came at the hands of Anthony Mundine back in 2009 and was a very close split decision, however Geale would later avenge that loss by beating Mundine by the way of unanimous decision. His only other loss came in another extremely close split decision loss to Darren Barker who got up from a brutal body shot in the 6th round to eek out a close win. This will certainly be the biggest fight of Geale's career because a win could be a star making performance. But he needs to be great defensively if he wants to do that.
How good this fight turns out to be really depends on Geale. Golovkin is going to do what he always does, be calm but aggressive and land his power shots until his opponent can't take any more. The question is how will Geale choose to fight. He may try and be more defensive minded by landing his jab and straight right hand from the outside and then use his footwork to stay out of danger. He may also choose to fight in typical Geale style which is get inside and put in good body work with combinations. It will be interesting to see not only how Geale chooses to fight but how well Golovkin can adjust to his opponent. One thing that is certain is that Golovkin is must see TV and this fight should not be missed.
PREDICTION: Daniel Geale is a good quality fighter and he will fight smart for the first few rounds but eventually he will get too brave and will pay for it. Things will open up in the middle rounds and that is where Gennady Golovkin will start to do damage. Geale will give a good showing but won't make it to the final bell as Golovkin will win this bout by the way of 9th round knockout.
As a professional Golovkin has been perfect. His career record stands at 29-0 and 26 of those wins have come by the way of knockout. Simply put Golovkin may be the hardest puncher in the sport today. While Golovkin hasn't yet faced an elite opponent he does have some nice wins over Gregorz Proksa, Gabriel Rosado, Matthew Macklin, and Stevens on his resume. While Geale isn't the most powerful puncher he has faced he is probably the most well rounded and should be able to give Golovkin a tough test, especially since he has never been knocked out.
 |
| Geale is as tough as they come |
While he may not be the biggest name in the sport Geale has had a good career and his record of 30-2 with 16 knockouts backs that up. Of those two losses one came at the hands of Anthony Mundine back in 2009 and was a very close split decision, however Geale would later avenge that loss by beating Mundine by the way of unanimous decision. His only other loss came in another extremely close split decision loss to Darren Barker who got up from a brutal body shot in the 6th round to eek out a close win. This will certainly be the biggest fight of Geale's career because a win could be a star making performance. But he needs to be great defensively if he wants to do that.
How good this fight turns out to be really depends on Geale. Golovkin is going to do what he always does, be calm but aggressive and land his power shots until his opponent can't take any more. The question is how will Geale choose to fight. He may try and be more defensive minded by landing his jab and straight right hand from the outside and then use his footwork to stay out of danger. He may also choose to fight in typical Geale style which is get inside and put in good body work with combinations. It will be interesting to see not only how Geale chooses to fight but how well Golovkin can adjust to his opponent. One thing that is certain is that Golovkin is must see TV and this fight should not be missed.
PREDICTION: Daniel Geale is a good quality fighter and he will fight smart for the first few rounds but eventually he will get too brave and will pay for it. Things will open up in the middle rounds and that is where Gennady Golovkin will start to do damage. Geale will give a good showing but won't make it to the final bell as Golovkin will win this bout by the way of 9th round knockout.
Bryant Jennings vs. Mike Perez
In the past couple of years the once dormant heavyweight division has seen an increase in true contenders. While none of these contenders seems quite ready to take the thrown from Wladimir Klitschko many of them do seem ready to step into his shoes once he decides to retire. Now the glamor division in boxing is very deep with contenders looking to climb over one another to be next in line for heavyweight greatness. Two of those contenders will be in action this Saturday on HBO as American Bryant Jennings is set to take on Cuban Mike Perez in a 12 round WBC heavyweight title eliminator.
 |
| Jennings gave fans a good show in his last bout |
In the heavyweight division there are two legitimate American contenders. One is the devastatingly powerful Deontay Wilder, the other is the skilled Bryant Jennings. While Wilder may get more fanfare at the moment it is Jennings who is more polished. Jennings is a physical specimen with a very good jab and a stiff straight right hand. He also has good hand speed especially for a heavyweight and can surprise opponents with quick combinations. The best punch Jennings has in his arsenal is his left hook but he also throws nice uppercuts. As far as style of fighting Jennings is better when he can control the distance with his jab and stay on the outside. He doesn't fight as well when things are at close range and he can also get caught on the ropes a bit to much. However when Jennings works his jab and moves his feet he is tough to beat.
The American who hails from Philadelphia was relatively unknown until his breakout year in 2012. That year Jennings went 5-0 with 3 stoppages against quality opposition. Since 2012 he has only fought twice but he did win both of this bouts including his HBO debut in January of this year when he stopped Artur Szpilka in the 10th round of a very crowd pleasing fight. As a pro Jennings has been perfect going 18-0 with 10 knockouts and while he doesn't have true one punch knockout power he does have enough to intelligently break opponents down over the course of a fight. This time around Jennings will be in tough with the slick Perez but it remains to be seen which Perez will enter the ring.
 |
| Perez may not be the same fighter who used to be |
Perez is a talented fighter with quick hands who puts his combinations together very well. The problem is that the Perez of old may not come back. In 2013 Perez engaged in a heavyweight war with the hard hitting Magomed Abdusalamov, while Perez won a close fight it came with a price. Abdusalamov suffered catastrophic injuries over the course of the fight and still remains to be seen if he will ever walk or talk again. That fight seems to have scarred Perez who looked uninterested in his next fight against Carlos Takam which ended in a draw. If Perez looks like his usual self expect the southpaw to land a lot of clean jabs and good straight left hands. Perez also has a pretty nice right hook and crooked left hand that he will throw on the inside. On defense Perez shows good head movement and footwork early but tends to slow down and get caught more latter in fights. That could be dangerous since Jennings has very good stamina and has ended fights in the final rounds before.
As a pro Perez was brought along at a nice pace in since 2011 has been fighting solid opponents. The biggest fight and win of his career came against Abdusalamov but that fight may have also altered his career going forward. Many fighters have lost that killer instinct after killing or badly injuring an opponent inside the ring. It is something that Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini talked about after his opponent Deuk-Koo Kim died 4 days after their 1982 bout. If Perez can get that fire back he is a legit contender and he has a record of 20-0-1 with 12 knockouts to prove it. This is a big fight for Perez's career and he will need to look good if he wants to remain on HBO.
Make no mistake about it this is a very good, high level heavyweight fight. Both fighters have seemingly bright futures and each would make a tremendous statement with a win. If Perez looks like he did against Abdusalamov he may be able to outbox Jennings and pick him apart. However that is a big if and Jennings is a good fighter who seems to do everything well. This fight should remain pretty close throughout the early rounds and could be decided in the final few minutes. Big time boxing fans are definitely excited about this one and casual fans should be too, if for nothing more than to see an American heavyweight contender.
PREDICTION: Mike Perez may be sharper and more skilled offensively but Byrant Jennings has slightly more power and his stamina is much better. Things should be close for the most part of the fight but Jennings will look better late and win a close, competitive fight by the way of unanimous decision.
Comments
Post a Comment