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PUNCHER’S DELIGHT ON SATURDAY NIGHT

Hi Doug,

A good night for boxing fans Saturday. The Jessie Vargas fight featured lots of action but really did not excite me too much so I will skip that narrative here. The Sergey Kovalev-Blake Caparello bout went much as expected with the Krusher stalking and looking to unload his heavy artillery until shades of Muhammad Ali-Chuck Wepner when Caparello stepped on Sergey’s foot as he threw a punch and scored a knockdown. I think this just served to piss Kovalev off and the straight left to the ribs was textbook stuff. If you can’t breathe you can’t fight and it was all over at that point.

THAT set up what I feel will be a fascinating matchup with Bernard Hopkins. B-Hop (the B standing for BIG BALLS because he has to have them to take this fight) has done some incredible things in the ring and to be there at his age is truly one for the record books and the hall of fame. That being said, he retired 10 years ago (I think) saying he told his mother he would retire at 40 (correct me if my numbers are a little off) but came back and continued to win against all odds (with a couple of hiccups along the way). I have tons of respect for the guy but by now his “I’m an alien” schtick is growing a little stale. His accomplishments against much younger competition are remarkable but sooner or later youth must be served. Father Time is undefeated (wish I had coined that phrase first).

Hopkins embarrassed Kelly Pavlik when he was on a roll but I see Kovalev as a much more polished fighter with a better skill set and a much bigger punch. I think the Russian will go in with a plan but also respect for his opponent. A KO over Hopkins will put Kovalev in the record books in a big way and I do see the Krusher wearing the older man down in this one. We will see. If B-Hop wins I will proclaim “All hail King B-Hop!”)

On to Brandon Rios-Diego Chaves. Ya gotta love it. I am always there when Rios fights because you always get your money’s worth. It was a rough house fight with Chaves showing how easy Rios is to hit and both men trading heavy leather. There were some real highlight reel punches landed and lots of holding, thumbing and lacing but neither man wobbled. A real back alley brawl….until the ref screwed it all up.

Both men were guilty of infractions of the rules but it was too close to the end to stop it the way Vic Drakulich did. He robbed the fans big time and with the scoring the way it was it might have been really dramatic down the stretch. Oh well………. What’s next for Rios? Love to see him in with Danny Garcia if they could agree on weight. THAT would be a fight. – David, Nashville

Yes, Garcia vs. Rios would indeed be a fight. I think it’s one of the better matchups the Cold War currently prevents. Although I envision Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions doing business in the near future, I don’t think Garcia-Rios will happen. Garcia is on the very short list of potential Floyd Mayweather Jr. opponents, and my guess is that “Guardian” Angel Garcia wants to keep his son in with soft opposition until they can cash in that lotto ticket. I guess we can’t blame them too much for that plan. Besides, Rios has plenty of worthy dance partners within the Top Rank/HBO boxing league – including a rubbermatch with Mike Alvarado, Tim Bradley, Ruslan Provodnikov, Luis Carlos Abregu, and the most beatable “unbeatable” fighter in boxing right now, Jessie “The Vegas Favorite” Vargas. Rios might even be able to entice Juan Manuel Marquez into the ring, which would pack The Forum in my hometown.

I agree that both Rios and Chaves were guilty of rough stuff, so I can’t put all the blame on Drakulich for the unsatisfying DQ conclusion to the fight. I don’t think any referee would have been able to prevent that matchup from becoming an ugly street brawl, but I do believe that there are veteran officials who are better at dealing with the “caveman” mentality in the ring than the sometimes over-officious Drakulich (Steve Smoger and Jack Reiss come to mind). Kenny Bayless refereed the Vargas-Novikov bout that preceded Rios-Chaves. I think if Bayless had been assigned the Rios-Chaves main event and Drakulich got the Vargas-Novikov bout the evening would have had less controversy.

Anyway, despite the DQ loss, I’d like to see Chaves again. I think the dude can fight (and I had him slightly ahead of Rios going into Round 9). I’d like to see him take on a rugged gatekeeper (such as Josesito Lopez, Yoshihiro Kamegai or Jesus Soto Karass) and get back into the major 147-pound mix if he prevails.

I’m happy to proclaim “All hail King B-Hop!” right now, David. It doesn’t matter to me if he beats Kovalev at this stage of his career. What matters to me is that he’s challenging himself. He’s taking a fight that most fans and media think he might lose; some even fear for health (and rightfully so). When Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fans ask me why I consider B-Hop to be an all-time great and not their heroes, it’s not hard at all for me to explain why. I just point out that Hopkins has the character of the great ones. It’s the “old man” who seeks to be the undisputed champion of his division; it’s the “old man” who sidesteps boxing’s B.S. politics and helps to get the necessary fights made. It’s the “old man” who is pursing the kind of matchups that force odds makers to install him as the underdog.

Personally, I don’t consider Hopkins to be an underdog vs. The Krusher, but I don’t see the ultra-veteran as a big favorite, either. You’re absolutely correct that Kovalev is a more complete boxer-puncher than Pavlik was and it will be interesting to see if he can tee off on the cagiest fighter of this generation the way he has all his other opponents.

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ROCKY IV

Seriously, does anyone else feel like they’ve seen this movie? An older, crafty black fighter with a talent for trash talk versus a gigantic, unstoppable Russian killing machine? Let’s just hope Hopkins is friends with an Italian boxer willing to try and avenge his death because I can’t say I think the living legend is going to pull this one off.Actually, that’s not entirely true. I think Hopkins has maybe a 30% chance of tangling and pot shotting Kovalev from the opening bell but he’s going to have to fight the perfect ugly fight because one clean body shot from the Krusher could have B Hop feeling like 90 instead of 50. I don’t even have much hope for the Alien’s mind games having their usual effect. Kovalev strikes me as too primal to let any of Hopkins antics get to him.All of that being said, I’ve got a ton of respect for Hopkins for taking this fight. I think he’s a great example of how a champion fighter should behave. I’m just saying, if he’s playing “Living in America” as he comes out to the ring, then it’s going to be a short night. Best – Sean

Aw man, why’d you have to bring up Rocky IV!? I hadn’t thought about the comparisons but it is a little creepy. If Drago, I mean Kovalev, tells B-Hop “I must break you” during the kick-off press conference I might have to boycott this match. That said – you gotta know that Hopkins is greater than Apollo Creed, who quit the game after back-to-back wars with Balboa. Don’t forget, “The King of Sting” had been retired for five years before coming back to face the Soviet Machine in an f__ked-up exhibition match. (For some reason Creed had a hard-on for Drago and wanted to come back to boxing to show the U.S.S.R. amateur star that America ruled the professional sport. In retrospect, if he wanted to discourage Drago he should have just made a sex tape with the big Russian’s girlfriend, Brigitte Nielsen. If she messed around with Flavor Flav’s nasty little ass, I can’t imagine she’d pass up “Action Jackson.”)

Anyway, Hopkins hasn’t been inactive. In the last 10 years, he’s fought two hall of famers (Oscar De La Hoya and Joe Calzaghe), one who will be a first-ballot HOFer (Roy Jones Jr.), two who might be inducted into the IBHOF (Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright), and SIX linear or undisputed champs (Tarver, Calzaghe, Jermain Taylor, Kelly Pavlik, Jean Pascal and Chad Dawson). He’s continued to fight on the world-class level in recent years, winning major world titles from Tavoris Cloud and Beibut Shumenov.

There ain’t gonna be no ring rust with this “older, crafty black fighter.”

THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS LIGHT HEAVY

Hi Doug,

Man, that Sergey Kovalev is a monster in the Gennady Golovkin mold!

When Blake Caparello is old and retired one day and sitting down with his grandchildren at the very least he will be able to say that he once knocked down the feared Sergey Kovalev, just like Chuck Wepner will probably tell the tale of how he knocked down the great Muhammad Ali.

Just like Wepner’s knockdown of The Greatest, Caparello’s knockdown was also of the inconsequential kind, catching him off balance as he stepped on his foot. After that, the writing was on the wall for the challenger as the knockdown merely served to ignite the fire inside the champion and he simply destroyed him.

This is yet another impressive knockout win for Kovalev and after being side stepped by Adonis Stevenson, he will finally be rewarded for his consistent entertainment value with a big unification showdown against Bernard Hopkins. Seems there is some justice in the world after all.

It is refreshing to see two champions willing to test themselves against the best. Kovalev is no doubt the most dangerous man in the division and the nearly fifty year old Hopkins is the personification of old school ring intelligence. Mad respect to both of them for facing each other.

It is impossible to count Hopkins out, even at his advanced age and I can easily picture him taking Kovalev to places he has never been before, neutralizing his power and schooling him for another miracle victory.

However, I can just as easily see Kovalev catching him with one of those monster body shots to put him down and keep him there. The way he goes downstairs is to me the most impressive thing about Kovalev. If there is one spot where you should get something in on Hopkins during the course of the fight it would be to the body and I have to wonder whether an almost fifty year old body can take a shot like that.

Between Stevenson and Kovalev, I think this is the toughest assignment that B-Hop could have taken. Yes, Kovalev has a more basic style, but he carries thunder in either hand, upstairs and downstairs, whereas Stevenson has mostly the southpaw straight left.

What do you think? I still have Hopkins on this one but I won’t bet the rent money on it.

I’m not one to kiss ass, even it should be a mullato one, but I have to say that the mailbag is my twice weekly boxing highlight. You know your stuff and it is great to have a forum where fans can exchange opinions. Boxing no longer has the profile in South Africa that it used to have and I can count the friends that I can talk boxing with on one hand and still have a finger or two to spare.

Having said that, even though I mostly agree with your opinions, I sometimes disagree, which brings me to the mythical matchup discussed a few mailbags ago between GGG and one of my favourites Tommy Hearns. Golovkin beats Hearns? Come on, man.

I say make it at middleweight. Yes, Hearns will get knocked out if Golovkin gets onto his usual roll but what do we know works against him? Simply put, he can be caught with the straight right, as we saw in the Geale fight. And who has a more devastating right than Tommy?

If Hearns used his superb boxing skills like he did in the Benitez fight, he should win easily enough on points. However, I do agree with you that his mentality is that of a puncher, which cost him in the Hagler fight.

Against Golovkin, he will go for it early and remember that he has the height, reach and hand speed advantage. He will hit GGG flush with the right before GGG hits him and I think that will be that and prevent the war of attrition that could favour Golovkin from happening. Golovkin is not the big middleweight that Barkley was and he doesn’t have the fluidity of a Leonard or the versatility of Hagler.

Anyway, we’ll never know and it isn’t really important, but it is still fun though…

Lastly, do you think that Shannon Briggs will talk and clown his way into a title shot against Wladimir Klitschko? I hope not. All this rubbish is leaving a sour taste in my mouth. Nothing against Briggs, he has given us some memorable fights over the years, but he should beat somebody in the top ten or even fifteen before getting a shot.

If that doesn’t work out, I think he could have a great career in WWE and I don’t mean that in a bad way. He sure has the look for it and the guy can certainly cut a promo. Regards. – Droeks Malan, South Africa

I agree with about Briggs. His acting talent and gift for gab is better suited for the WWE than boxing, but it should be noted that professional wrestling is the ultimate physical/mental grind. I don’t think Briggs would last long in that system. Maybe Briggs could be a manager character that occasionally wrestles. I’d rather see him do that than get KTFO by Wladdy in what would probably be an ugly fight for five or six rounds until Briggs gets winded and clipped by the future hall of famer.

Thanks for the kind words about the mailbag, and no worries about the disagreement with my pick in the GGG vs. Hitman mythical matchup. I expected to get some backlash from longtime fans and I’m glad that I did. I want fans to stick up for Tommy! I was a diehard Sugar Ray Leonard fan as a kid, but I had mad respect for the Motor City Cobra (as most boxing fans from Ohio did). I followed Hearns’ career closer than any other fighter following his epic loss to Leonard in 1981. And that’s why I’m so familiar with his weaknesses. Trust me, GGG would have been all wrong for Hearns, especially at the hypothetical 154-pound match proposed by the fan who proposed the mythical matchup last week.

I know Golovkin can be hit by right hands and Hearns was a bona-fide homerun hitter with his right, but GGG is seldom hit flush with power shots, and when he is – as he showed vs. Geale – he is able to return immediate heavy fire. Hearns would have hurt Golovkin, but I think Golovkin would have hurt Hearns right back. I don’t know for sure, but my hunch is that GGG takes a better shot than Hearns. I also think he would recover quicker than the Hitman.

I know that Hearns had the ability and skill out outpoint Golovkin, but we wouldn’t see that version vs. GGG. Hearns outpointed Wilfred Benitez because he HAD to. The ultra-talented Puerto Rican was too slick and savvy to get repeatedly nailed and he was too smart to go toe to toe with the bigger puncher. Golovkin would apply steady pressure, which was the key to unlocking the Detroit native’s “power lust.” Like I said in last week’s Monday mailbag, Hearns had a puncher’s mentality and there’s no way that he wouldn’t try to take Golovkin’s head off.

I know that Golovkin isn’t as big as Iran Barkley, but he’s more polished than “the Blade.” And the fact of the matter is, one didn’t have to be that technically sharp to tag and hurt Hearns, who was badly stunned or dropped by rugged-but-basic sluggers like Juan Roldan, James Kinchen and Freddie Delgado.

Anyway, if you think Hearns would have bombed GGG out, I won’t argue with you too much. You might be right. If Golovkin gets wobbled, dropped of knocked out by somebody in the next three or four years, I’ll have to change my opinion on this particular mythical matchup.

Regarding the Hopkins-Kovalev bout, I can’t add anything more to what you said about it: “It is refreshing to see two champions willing to test themselves against the best. Kovalev is no doubt the most dangerous man in the division and the nearly fifty year old Hopkins is the personification of old school ring intelligence.”

That’s the fight in a nutshell and that’s why boxing (and maybe even general sports) media will cover the event with anticipation and it’s why fans will watch with it with interest.

NO COMMENTS?

Doug,

What happened to the Disqus forum under your mailbags? I can’t talk s__t to people now, lol. I tried using what was there to leave a comment and it kept directing to me to a “page not found.” Either way, I’ll just tell you what I was gonna post, here.

Good job on the response to David Perdue. If he would only hold Mayweather to the standard he appears to hold GGG too, I would be happy. But he is indicative of the common Mayweather fan. Their guy can do no wrong and everyone else is s__t or hype or exposed or whatever else you wanna say about the guy. I appreciated that you answered that the way you did. Keep handling these guys, bro!

BTW, I sent an email about Marcos Maidana being May’s Jose Luis Castillo a few months back. You answered in your mailbag with a spot on answer. You said that he would make the fight exciting but that Maidana wasn’t technical enough to win. Spot on. Hopefully, Maidana watched GGG cut off the ring and he can emulate him during this next fight with May that I will be “listening to on the radio,” lol. – Ritchie

Ha! If only it was that easy to modify one’s style and improve one’s technique. Maidana will never have the technical ability or ring generalship of Golovkin – I don’t care who’s training him. “Chino” is a fighter with heavy hands. GGG is a boxer with heavy hands (who knows HOW to punch). Golovkin is smarter, more athletically gifted and he had the more extensive amateur background. ‘Nuff said. Maidana has made the most of his ability and we can’t fault him for that. Robert Garcia has polished Maidana style as much as one can without taking away from what makes the man dangerous in the ring.

Will that be enough to extend Mayweather a second time? I doubt it. But at least Maidana is getting another shot at the P4P King, something GGG can only dream about.

Regarding DJ Perdue’s statement in the Friday mailbag about top fighters taking “easy fights,” Hopkins helped prove my point that many of today’s premier boxers are taking the “hard road” by making the 175-pound title unification bout with Kovalev.

I have no idea what happened to the Disqus forums under my mailbags and other RingTV.com articles. I know that the current comment section under our articles is not operational and I’ve notified the good folks at Craveonline, which hosts RingTV.com. I’ll keep bugging them until we can fix the problem (and it might take a few days because I’m sure they’re all suffering massive Comic Con hangovers) because I want to be able to mix it up with the haters as much as you do.

Hopefully, we get this situation (and a few other publishing tool glitches) fixed as soon as possible.

BERNARD HOPKINS

By the time you read this, Sergei Kovalev should have gotten past Blake Caparello and a fight with Bernard Hopkins should be on. I haven’t particularly enjoyed watching Hopkins fights these past few years and some of bhop’s remarks (of a racial nature) grate on me, but it’s hard not to respect his boxing accomplishments (which in my opinion should also include a pair of victories over Jermain Taylor).

That Hopkins has agreed to fight Kovalev stuns me. This is a fight Hopkins could avoid without his all-time-great status diminishing in any way. The mere fact that he has taken the fight enhances that ATG status, even if he loses, which I expect to happen by early knockout. Doug, I’m sure you will give predictions on the outcome of the fight, but what’s your take on the fact the Hopkins even took this fight? Thanks. – Chuck

What’s my take on Hopkins facing Kovalev? It’s real simple: He’s a real fighter. And he’s got the character of a great fighter.

I view B-Hop the same way you do. I’ve grown tired of his out-of-the-ring lectures and antics and I don’t enjoy watching him work his craft all that much anymore (although I recognize his skills and I’m in awe at what he can do at his age). However, I respect him and his accomplishments more than any other active boxer (and I agree that he should be 2-0 vs. Taylor or at the very least 1-0-1 or 1-1).

GGG VS PBF

Mr Fischer,

Just finished reading your Friday mailbag.

Why do people keep bringing up this inane talk about Golovkin fighting Mayweather? Mayweather is not even a natural welterweight! He is a lightweight or at best a junior welterweight! If Mayweather were a natural middleweight he would take the somewhat slow Golovkin to school. Why don’t the haters obsess about Hopkins fighting Klitschko? Because Klischko is too big, but if the two were the same weight Hopkins would tale Klitschko to school! – Haachitaba Mweene, PhD

I’m not into the Golovkin-Mayweather talk, either. I think GGG would either cut Floyd in half with a body shot or knock him out so cold he’d leave the ring on a stretcher, and that’s the last thing the sport needs.

However, fans and members of the boxing media will continue to toss GGG’s name at Mayweather because they want to see him in challenged. They want to see him pushed to his limits. I guess the Maidana fight wasn’t enough for them. They don’t view Chino as a threat. Maybe they don’t view Pacquiao or any other welterweight as a threat.

I understand if they don’t. I view Mayweather as the real welterweight champ. And one can easily argue that he’s the most dominant welterweight champ since De La Hoya. (He might be the most talented welterweight champ since Pernell Whitaker or Donald Curry). And here’s the thing about dominant or ultra-talented welterweight champs, there’s always been pressure for them to challenge the top middleweights from hardcore fans and the boxing media.

It doesn’t matter what weight they began their pro careers at or that their prime weights were in divisions lighter than 147 pounds. Henry Armstrong was the featherweight champ when he won the welterweight title and he weighed in at 142 pounds when he challenged Ceferino Garcia for the middleweight championship. Great welterweight champs like Kid Gavilan and Jose Napoles turned pro at 122-126 pounds. The Cuban stylists peaked at 147 pounds but both also challenged hall-of-fame-bound middleweight champs of their eras. Roberto Duran, who turned pro at 119 pounds and peaked at lightweight, wasn’t even a dominant welterweight champ. He had some big wins at 147 pounds, mainly his decisions over Carlos Palomino and Leonard, but he wasn’t a long-reigning champ like Mayweather and many others. Still, his talent was undeniable and he was popular, so when he challenged undisputed middleweight champ Marvelous Marvin Hagler, fans didn’t whine about how it wasn’t a fair fight because Duran didn’t belong at 160 pounds. They got excited about the fight! Even when Duran was 37 years old (the same age Mayweather is now), clearly past his prime and a decided underdog against WBC middleweight titleholder Iran Barkley (the man who knocked out the man who knocked him the f__k out, Tommy Hearns), the boxing media and hardcore fans went ape s__t for “Hands of Stone.”

His diehard fans believed in him. I’m sure that some were worried about him but they were too proud to admit that in public forums the way Mayweather’s fans seem to constantly argue against their man taking risky fights.

Bottom line: If Floyd claims to be “TBE,” there are going to be fans and media who ask him to live up to that standard.

GOLOVKIN VS THE KRUSHER

I was reading your mailbag as I always do and all of the sudden it hit me….what if 3G and The Krusher met at 168 lbs? Who do you think would win that exciting fight? I know this probably won’t make the Monday mailbag and that’s fine I just wanna know your thoughts on that fight. I know you are fond of both fighters as am I. And for the record I been reading faithfully every Monday and Friday for years and I must say Dougie, I value your opinion on boxing more than any other writer/journalist anywhere. I know there are a lot of good people out there doing what they love but too me you top them all. You are not biased even to those boxers whom you like more than others. I like that. Please keep doing what you’re doing because people such as myself and others all around the globe appreciate what you do. If you don’t put this in your mailbag (which I don’t blame you if you do – lol) could you at least please send me a short response on who you think would come out on top if that fight were ever to happen. Much love. – Bruce, Phoenix, AZ

Thank you for the very kind words and for reading the mailbag all these years, Bruce. I am humbled. I hope to meet you one day, preferably at a fight in Phoenix or Tucson. I haven’t covered a boxing match in your neck of the woods since 2005 but I remember having a great time with the fans. Hopefully, a solid Golden Boy Promotions or Top Rank card lands in Arizona in the near future.

Golovkin vs. Kovalev, if they agreed to meet at a 168-pound catchweight, would be kind of like the super middleweight version of the Carlos Zarate-Alfonzo Zamora showdown because of the KO streaks the Kazak and Russian fighter are currently riding. I would have to favor GGG in that one because I don’t think Krusher could drop down to super middleweight without severely taxing his body (which Golovkin would attack relentlessly knowing what he did to the Russian standout in sparring a few years back).

THOMAS ‘TOP DOG’ WILLIAMS JR.

Dougie,

Ts the Thomas “Top Dawg” Williams Jr. fighting on ESPN the son of the Thomas “Top Dawg” Williams who was involved in the Richie “The Bull” Melito fight fixing scandal with Robert Mittleman?

Sr. was based in SC but was a DC native. Jr. is DC based. Seemed like more than coincidence.

Certainly, not trying to cast a cloud over the kid. If it is his dad, not the son’s fault. Just a curiosity for me. What I saw of the son, promising young fighter.

Best Regards. – HG in SC

We’ll find out how promising Williams Jr. really is if and when he comes back from his first loss. I like him and I’m hoping that he does.

Williams Jr. is indeed the son of former heavyweight journeyman Thomas Williams Sr., who was convicted of sports bribery along with South Carolina promoter Robert Mitchell. (Manager/agent Robert Mittleman admitted to arranging Thomas’ dives against Melito and Brian Nielsen and then tried to bribe a federal prosecutor and judge to drop the chargesÔǪ he was looking at 20 years in prison 10 years ago, I don’t know if he did any time. Thomas and Mitchell did 15 months.).

Here’s a few links to news items and feature articles related to that scandal.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nv/news/2004/11082004.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=1794889

http://www.boxing.com/the_memory_bank_part_twenty_two.html

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2001/35/20010830-archive807.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tale-two-williamses-052900660–box.html

By the way, I covered the card that Melito-Thomas was on. It was a Don King-promoted show that was headlined by the first Evander Holyfield-Jon Ruiz fight and it took place at the Paris Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas in August of 2000 (what can I say, I’m an old man – one month older than Thomas Sr., LOL). Nobody from the media saw the Melito-Thomas fight because they “staged” it before the doors to the card officially opened.

Best thing about that show was sitting next to the late, great Bert Sugar.

CRAZY FOR GGG

Hey Dougie,I’m beginning to think Golovkin cleans out 160 and 168 rather easily, with the only notable resistance coming from Andre Ward. GGG will miss punches somewhat often vs Ward but will trap him and land often enough to stop his man late (after the 8th). I think Kovalev/Stevenson/Hopkins are the only guys that can beat him. Am I crazy? – Dan G. (CT)

No, you are not crazy.

GOLOVKIN VS THE GREATS

Dear Mr. Doug,

Ever since Gennady Golovkin faced Grzegorz Proska in his U.S. debut, all of his fights have followed the same narrative:

1) Fighter X will be Golovkin’s biggest test yet

2) Violence ensues

3) Fighter X gets knocked out

Last Saturday’s fight was no different. The only question was how long Geale would last. Geale is a very good fighter. World class. I thought he would make it at least six rounds. I was wrong.

So, in light of the evidence, what do you think about Thomas Hauser’s proposition this past week, that, “…Golovkin is the #1 pound for pound fighter in the world. If Mayweather disputes that notion, let him fight Gennady at 154 pounds.”

It’s a bold statement, but he has a point. Let’s put aside the notion of how likely we are to ever see the fight. How would the Kazakh Assassin fare against Money? Do Golovkin’s size, ring generalship, granite chin and hammer fists give Mayweather his first loss? Or do Floyd’s own footwork, defense, hand speed, and sheer technical virtuosity make Golovkin look like a lumbering oaf, much as they did to Alvarez?

Honestly, I think Floyd is one of the best fighters of the modern era. I also think that at 154 pounds, Gennady would knock him the f__k out.

OK. It’s a theoretical exercise. But as long as promoters, networks, sanctioning bodies and all the rest keep the best fighters from fighting the best fighters, theoretical match ups are the only way we’ve got to figure out how a fighter stacks up against his contemporaries, as well as those who have stepped into the squared circle before him.

With that in mind, I propose the following match ups at 160 pounds. What do you think?

Golovkin vs James Toney

Golovkin vs Marvelous Marvin Haggler

Golovkin vs Archie Moore

Golovkin vs Harry Greb

Love the mailbag. Keep it up. – Matt P., Potomac, MD

Thanks for the kind words, Matt.

At one time I thought Mayweather vs. GGG was a dream fight. I changed my tune after the Maidana fight. If Floyd struggles with Chino in the rematch I think most fans will also change their tunes.

I don’t agree with Hauser’s opinion of Golovkin being a pound-for-pound level fighter at the moment but I don’t have a problem with it, either. Everybody who follows boxing is welcome to anoint their own P4P kings. It’s all mental masturbation, just like these mythical matchups of yours that I’m about to jerk off on:

Golovkin vs James Toney – it’s a close fight at 160 pounds but I think Toney would scrape by for a disputed split decision in a hell of a scrap. At 168 pounds, I think Toney would win a close but clear UD.

Golovkin vs Marvelous Marvin Hagler – I like Hagler via competitive decision in a brilliant but grueling war between to iron-chinned pressure-fighting technicians.

Golovkin vs Archie Moore – I like the Old Mongoose (who was actually in his prime at middleweight) via decision or late stoppage.

Golovkin vs Harry Greb – I think Greb outworks GGG to a decision.

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