Golovkin vs. Oosthuizen on 1/19

Golovkin vs. Oosthuizen on 1/19By Rob Smith: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) is heading for a clash against unbeaten super middleweight contender Thomas Oosthuizen (20-0-1, 13 KO’s) if the fight can get get put together. Golovkin, 30, would be moving up in weight for one fight to take on the tall 6’4″ International Boxing Organization (IBO) super middleweight champion Oosthuizen at MSG Theater, in New York, New York, USA in a fight that will be televised in the United States nationwide.

It’s come to this after the fight that Golovkin wanted against IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale didn’t materialize due to Geale choosing to fight fellow Australian Anthony Mundine in a better money fight. Once it was known that Geale was going to take that fight instead of the World Boxing Association ordered fight against Golovkin, the WBA wasted no time in stripping Geale of his WBA title.

However, he reportedly knew that he had to face Golovkin next after the WBA told him when he first captured the WBA belt against Felix Sturm last September but he still opted for the bout against Mundine. With that fight unable to take place, Golovkin’s promoters at K2 are looking to put a fight together with the 24-year-old Oosthuizen.

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Golovkin will be watching Chavez Jr-Martinez fight with great interest, hoping to get the winner

Golovkin will be watching Chavez Jr-Martinez fight with great interest, hoping to get the winnerBy Marcus Richardson: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) will be watching the September 15th fight between WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KO’s) and Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO’s) with great interest, as Golovkin wants to fight the winner of that bout. Golovkin, 30, fought for the first time in the United States last Saturday night in destroying #3 WBA Grzegorz Proksa in five rounds in a three knockdown performance from Golovkin. The win has suddenly made Golovkin one of the top fighters in the division in the minds of boxing fans, although the hardcore fans already knew how good Golovkin was going into this fight.

Golovkin said to RingTV “For the fight on September 15 between Chavez Jr. and Martinez, I think it’s a 50-50 fight. Sergio has better skills, but Chavez Jr. is younger and seems to be getting stronger with each fight. I look forward to viewing the Chavez Jr-Martinez fight.”

Golovkin would be a serious threat to either Chavez Jr. or Martinez due to his huge power, excellent inside fighting skills and pinpoint accuracy with his punches. Unlike most of the 180 pound Chavez Jr’s opponents, Golovkin would be able to compete with Chavez Jr. on the inside despite giving away 15+ pounds in weight. Chavez Jr. is a dangerous to the body, but he doesn’t have the power that Golovkin has when punching on the inside to the head and body. Chavez Jr. would have to deal with a lot of powerful head and body shots, and it would very tough for him to be able to take those kinds of shots for 12 rounds.

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Golovkin may have problems trying to get the other 160 lb champions to fight him

Golovkin may have problems trying to get the other 160 lb champions to fight himBy Michael Collins: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovin (24-0, 21 KO’s) is in a situation now where he may find it difficult to get the other top middleweights to face him due to in part to his crushing 5th round knockout victory over #3 WBA Grzegorz Proksa last Saturday night in Verona, New York. The other middleweight champions were obviously already keenly aware of how good Golovkin was before the Proksa fight, but after no doubt seeing him reduce a good fighter in Proksa to a pile of rubble, it’s possible that Golovin may find himself ignored by the other champs in the division.

We may already be seeing that with IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale possibly taking a lesser fight against #2 IBF Sam Soliman in December, which will result in Geale getting his WBA by the World Boxing Association for failing to fight Golovkin by December 31st. It’s surprising that Geale would go through all that trouble to win the WBA title but then turn around and just give it up without a fight in the ring against Golovkin.

The Geale isn’t really that interesting, though, compared to facing the winner of the September 15th fight between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez. Getting the chance of fighting one of those guys would be ideal for Golovkin, because he could immediately nail down the number #1 position int he middleweight division if he were to fight the winner of that bout. Geale obviously would still be remaining for Golovkin to fight at that point, but that would be the easier fight compared to taking on Chavez Jr or Martinez, both of which are bigger punchers than Geale.

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The Middleweight Landscape

The Middleweight LandscapeBy Anthony Loy: Forget arguing about the p4p rankings, the middleweight division is currently the home of fierce debate regarding who will sit atop the mountain in the very near future.

The heir to the throne appears to be one Gennady Golovkin, a punch perfect destruction of hard-hitting but limited Grzegorz Proksa on Saturday night has put the hype train into full speed but whilst he undoubtedly has the tools and an extensive amateur background (in which he holds wins over Andre Dirrell and Lucian Bute) I can’t help but feel people are getting carried away with his exciting but totally expected win over the one-dimensional Proksa, a man who was outpointed not long ago by the unheralded Kerry Hope.

The man currently reigning supreme in what is fast turning into the most fascinating division in Boxing Sergio Martinez takes on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr for the WBC belt on September 15th in what promises to be one of the fights of the year, Chavez who has a very impressive 46-0-1 record will provide Martinez with a stern test and will hope to impose his size advantage when the two meet, whatever the outcome of this fight and I believe it will be a close points win for Chavez I think its likely it will be Chavez’s last in the 160lb division.

Daniel Geale and Felix Sturm provided and excellent fight and a nightmare for the judges on Saturday night with Geale earning a split-decision win away from home in Germany, a place not known for giving visiting fighters a fair shake (just ask Matthew Macklin).

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Geale to fight 38-year-old Soliman next, not Golovkin

Geale to fight 38-year-old Soliman next, not GolovkinBy Michael Collins: With his 12 round split decision victory over WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm last Saturday night, IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale (28-1, 15 KO’s) will be bypassing an World Boxing Association ordered title defense against WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin to fight 38-year-old Sam Soliman (42-11, 17 KO’s) in December.

The move will likely result in the WBA stripping Geale of his newly won WBA 160 pound title unless Geale’s management can get permission to bypass the defense against Golovkin. The WBA ordered that the winner of the Geale-Sturm fight has to defend the title against the mandatory by December 31st. If Geale chooses to fight Soliman, who clearly is the lesser threat compared to the hard hitting Golovkin, the WBA may choose to strip Geale of his title.

Geale probably would be better off vacating the WBA title because he doesn’t match up well with Golovkin at all. This wouldn’t be a fight where Geale could out-jab and win rounds against Golovkin by landing weak right hands all night long like he did in beating Sturm. That wouldn’t against Golovki, who would be teeing off on Geale each time he catch up to him and we’d likely see a knockout by the 6th round. In that case, it’s smart that Geale is looking to take on Soliman instead because Geale can win that fight, but he can’t beat Golovkin. That would be a terrible mismatch.

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Golovkin says he’s ready for anyone from Mayweather to Ward?

Golovkin says he's ready for anyone from Mayweather to Ward?By Paul Strauss: Gennady G.G.G. Golovkin did a pretty good job Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. trying to establish his worthiness for all comers. Quite often when a fighter boasts he’s ready for the best (in several divisions), his words are dismissed as just so much talk. Fans realize that often a fighter is trying hard to convince himself as much as anyone else.

In Golovkin’s case, Fans might dismiss the apparent bragging as a problem in translation. Maybe English translated to his native Kazakh (or possibly Russian) language back to English got mixed up with the effort. One thing for sure, Golovkin did a number on the previously once defeated Polish southpaw fighter named Grzegorz “Super G” Proksa, who sported twenty-one knockouts of his own to surpass Golovkin’s twenty. Going into Saturday night’s bout, he was viewed as no slouch, but despite that fact, Golovkin managed to knock him stiff.

Just cruising along in the first round, Golovkin still managed to drop Proksa. There was thought by some he might have slipped or stumbled over Golovkin’s feet. Doubt diminished In the second round, when G.G.G. fired off several particularly nice left hooks to the body, which changed the expression on the Polish fighter’s face to something resembling a silent scream.

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Golovkin with a lot of options for big fights after blasting out Proksa in five

Golovkin with a lot of options for big fights after blasting out Proksa in fiveBy Rob Smith: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) is now in a great position to get some big fights whether it be at junior middleweight, middleweight or super middleweight, after Golovkin made easy work in beating #3 WBA Grzegorz Proksa (28-2, 21 KO’s) by a beautiful 5th round knockout on Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. Before the fight, which was televised on HBO, a lot of casual boxing fans in the U.S didn’t have a clue who Golovkin was, but they can’t say that now after witnessing his impressive three knockdown performance in stopping Proksa.

Golovkin says he’s willing to fight the top names at 154, 160 and 168. This means that Golovkin isn’t limited to just waiting on guys like Sergio Martinez or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to finally face him. He can go after the top guys at 154 like Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez, or go after the big names at super middleweight such as Carl Froch, Lucian Bute, Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler.

It definitely helps that Golovkin has the ability to fight in three divisions at any given time to get the biggest fights available because in this boxing climate today with promoters protecting their fighters from dangerous opposition, it could prove near impossible for Golovkin to get any really important fights if he stays strictly in one division. Golovkin needs to be able to chase down fights in at least three divisions at a time if he wants to become a star in a short period of time.

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Golovkin destroys Proksa in easy win; Dzinziruk-Gonzalez fight to 12 rd draw

Golovkin destroys Proksa in easy win; Dzinziruk-Gonzalez fight to 12 rd drawBy Dwight Chittenden: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) made it look easy tonight in halting Poland’s Grzegorz Proksa (28-2, 21 KO’s) in a a 5th round knockout at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino, in Verona, New York. Golovkin knocked the badly overmatched Proksa down three times before the brutal slaughter was ended in the 5th round with Proksa knocked face down on the canvas.

Golovkin put Proksa down in the 1st, 4th and the last time in the 5th. You could tell that the end was near in the 4th round when Golovkin knocked Proksa down with a powerful right hand to the head. Although Proksa was also knocked down in the 1st, but this time he was really hurt and he took punishment for the remainder of the round.

In the 5th round, Golovkin came out like a shark smelling blood in the water, ignoring Proksa’s futile attempts to fight him off with wild shots, Golovkin got Proksa near the ropes and badly hurt him with a big right hand. Proksa, now staggering, was helpless as Golovkin added the finishing shots to the head to put him down face first on the canvas. Proksa gamely got to his feet but he was badly dazed and the referee did the right thing by calling a halt to the fight at 1:11 of the round.

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Geale won’t last long against Golovkin

Geale won't last long against GolovkinBy Michael Collins: I hope IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale savors his victory tonight over WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm because he’s not likely going to hold onto his title for very long once he ends up facing WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. Let’s be real about this. You might as well register that as a knockout loss for Geale unless he ducks Golovkin entirely. I wouldn’t be surprised nor would I blame Geale for dodging a fight against the hard hitting Golovkin, because he doesn’t have a prayer or winning that fight.

Once that fight is scheduled, Geale might as well see it as an appointment to get knocked out.

I give Geale plenty of credit for beating Sturm tonight. He did an excellent job of coming on in the second hafl of the fight to get the better of Sturm with his pressure and high work rate. Sturm played the usual possum game and tried to steal rounds like he usually does by fighting in spurts, but Geale was having none of it. He knew what he had to do to beat the German fighter by keeping him under constant pressure.

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Hearn doesn’t see Golovkin-Proksa fight going the distance

Hearn doesn't see Golovkin-Proksa fight going the distance(Photo credit Ed Keenan/K2 Promotions) By Marcus Richarson: Matchroom Sport promoter Barry Hearn, the promoter for Grzegorz Proksa (28-1, 21 KO’s), doesn’t see tomorrow night’s fight between IBO/WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and the 27-year-old Proksa going the full 12 rounds when they meet in this HBO televised fight at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, United States.

Hearn said to RingTV “Both have huge knockout percentage. Both have the ability to take men out with single shots, and I think HBO is in for an exciting fight. If it goes the distance, I’ll be surprised.”

It probably won’t go the distance, and Hearn is right about both guys having a ton of power. Both guys can legitimately end the fight with a single shot. However, it’s going to be a little tougher for Proksa because he really only has power in his left hand, and he can’t fight on the inside at all because of his style of fighting. He fights a lot like former WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, and like him, Proksa can’t fight well on the inside. He’s kind of lost when in close and mostly just looks to hold. Golovkin has already said that he plans on taking the fight to Proksa on Saturday, to get real close and force him to fight an inside game.

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