HBO Fight Preview

Gennady Golovkin vs. Dominic Wade

While Saturday's fight on HBO certainly isn't the fight fans were hoping to see, it is the one they will have to settle for.  The fight fans did want to see was a match-up between the man most feel is the best middleweight in the world, Gennady Golovkin, and the lineal middleweight champion of the world Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.  Instead fans will have to settle for Golovkin facing off against the undefeated Dominic Wade.  That fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds and Golovkin's WBA, IBF, and interim WBC middleweight titles will be on the line.

Another KO would make 22 in a row for GGG

Golovkin is an orthodox fighter and unless you have been living under a rock you know he is one of the heaviest hitters in the sport.  However, Golovkin isn't just a puncher, he is also a skilled boxer as he showed in his last fight against David Lemieux.  In that fight Golovkin broke Lemieux down with his jab before finishing him with power punches.  Along with his excellent jab Golovkin also has a strong right hand that can do damage whether or comes in straight or over the top.  But without a doubt his most dangerous punch is his left hook.  That punch can end a fight in an instant and he lands it equally well upstairs or to the body.  Defensively Golovkin has been touched up in fights but he has always said he allows certain opponents to land punches just to make his fights more exciting.  Against Lemieux his defense was good and with his jab it isn't easy for other fighters to get off much.

The only knock against Golovkin at this point is that he still hasn't faced an elite fighter.  However, anyone who says that he only fights tomato cans clearly doesn't know boxing.  Golovkin has faced plenty of quality opponents including Curtis Stevens, Martin Murray, and Lemieux among others.  As a pro Golovkin has put together a perfect record of 34-0 with includes an almost unfair 31 knockouts.  Golovkin will be the heavy favorite against Wade and anything but an early knockout may be viewed as a bad performance.

Wade will be a massive underdog against GGG

Wade is also an orthodox fighter and he too has heavy hands, although not to the same extent as Golovkin.  Wade does have long arms though and he will have a more than 4-inch reach advantage on Golovkin.  Wade will use his jab much differently than Golvokin does.  While Golovkin will hurt opponents with his jab Wade uses his to score points and stay busy and at times his uses his straight right hand the same way.  However, when he wants to Wade will put more behind that straight right hand and its a good weapon that can do damage.  When he puts power behind his straight right hand it's his best punch but Wade also has a pretty sneaky good left hook.  He has been down in his career though which could spell trouble against Golovkin.

Wade has been fighting professionally since 2009 but he really only has two notable wins, one over Nick Brinson and the other against Sam Soliman.  Yet those wins, his two best came against a prospect and a limited fighter well passed his prime.  Wade has been able to keep a perfect record though which stands at 18-0 with a solid 12 knockouts.  Without a doubt Golovkin will be the toughest opponent of Wade's career.  Wade has never fought anyone even near the level of Golovkin and a win would not only shock the world but it would also make Wade an overnight star.

In most of his fights Golovkin starts off slowly until he figures out his opponents and goes about breaking them down.  Wade cannot allow himself to be broken down so he will need to get Golovkin's respect early.  Wade needs to start fast, not only to put some early rounds in the bank but also to prove to Golovkin that he isn't a pushover.  If Wade can catch Golovkin a few times and earn some respect than this fight might go longer than expected.  However, Wade does leave his lead hand low which will leave him open for Golovkin right hands so if he does start off aggressively he needs to pay close attention to return fire.

PREDICTION: This fight isn't really about whether or not Dominic Wade will win.  It is more about how long he will last against the highly skilled, and very powerful Gennady Golovkin.  That depends on whether or not Golovkin decides to toy with Wade like he said he did against Willie Monroe Jr.  If Golovkin gets confident he may carry Wade for a few rounds before stopping him in the seventh round.

Roman Gonzalez vs. McWilliams Arroyo

The night's co-feature will also be a title fight, although in a much lighter division.  Like the last two times Gennady Golovkin headlined an HBO card it will be Roman Gonzalez who appears in the co-feature.  This time around Gonzalez will be taking on McWilliams Arroyo and the fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds from the flyweight division.  On the line will be Gonzalez's WBC flyweight title.

Gonzalez is the #2 ranked P4P fighter 

You wouldn't know it from looking at him but Gonzalez has some of the heaviest hands in boxing.  It isn't often that such a small fighter packs such a serious punch but "Chocolatito" Gonzalez does just that.  Gonzalez is an orthodox fighter with a good jab that helps set up a strong straight right hand.  Along with that punch Gonzalez will also throw an overhand right that is even more dangerous.  However, his best weapon is his left hook and he can knock opponents out with that punch upstairs or to the body.  On the inside Gonzalez also likes to mix in uppercuts and his combination punching is fun to watch as is he killer instinct.  When Gonzalez has his man hurt he doesn't play around, he goes in for the kill.

It isn't always easy to build your resume as a smaller fighter because they don't usually get much airtime or attention.  Yet Gonzalez has been able to consistently fight good opposition and he has two very big wins over Juan Francisco Estrada and Brian Viloria.  As a pro "Chocolatito" holds a perfect record of 44-0 with an incredible 38 knockouts which is in part why he keeps finding himself on high profile HBO cards.  While Arroyo might not be the biggest name opponent he is a dangerous one who can't be overlooked.

Arroyo will be looking to pull off the upset

Arroyo is an orthodox fighter who likes to work behind his jab.  Arroyo will pump that jab often but he isn't a very busy fighter, instead he usually looks to land power punches instead of a high volume of shoe shine shots.  Along with that jab Arroyo will also throw a straight right hand that isn't all that great and an overhand right that can do some real damage although it does tend to come in wildly.  Arroyo's best punch is his short left hook which he can surprise opponents with.  However, Arroyo isn't exactly slick and if he waits to land power punches against Gonzalez the fight may be over before he gets off any significant ones.

The resume of Arroyo is not a very impressive one.  His best opponent to date was Amnat Ruenroeng and he lost that fight, although it was a close loss by the way of split decision.  His other loss came early in his career but it was a unanimous decision loss to a 1-0-1 fighter.  Those two losses are the only blemished on Arroyo's record and he has never been knocked out while putting together a record of 16-2 with a very strong 14 knockouts.  

Like the main event this fight is more about Gonzalez than it is Arroyo.  There are bigger names waiting for fights with Gonzalez and Arroyo seems more like a stay busy fight although to his credit Arroyo is a good fighter capable of giving opponents plenty of problems and even knocking them out.  It just seems that Gonzalez might be on a different level.  If he wants to pull off the upset Arroyo will need to be much busier than usual and not just look to land a few power punches each round.  As for Gonzalez as long as he fights like he usually does he should be fine.

PREDICTION: While McWilliams Arroyo has never been knocked out he has been knocked down and Roman Gonzalez has done both to most of his opponents.  McWilliams may be able to survive the early rounds but he will never see the late ones as Gonzalez will win this fight via sixth round stoppage.