GGG FRUSTRATIONS

Hey Dougie,

How’s it hanging with you and the fam? Hope all is well. Before I get into the real stuff, I was on Steve Kim’s twitter before you posted the story on the website, to see what the reaction and result of the Gennady Golovkin fight was. People as usual being a__holes online, but I saw a lot of people bitching that GGG should have been disqualified. So, I went back and watched the fight, I don’t see it, a fighter not yet down, got hit with a shot as he was collapsing. No problems in my eyes. What did you see?

GGG got hit with a punch by a boxer who has been inactive and is trained by IMHO the worst combat sports trainer in the game. I don’t think it is as big of an issue as people think. If anything I agree with Abel, he was too tight and he was looking for the knockout. I think his entire performance can be summed up in one word: Frustration. Imagine you get a new job, great pay, great benefits, car, house, the whole shebang. Now two weeks in you get told to go work minimum wage as a fry cook. If I were him I’d be pissed and sloppy too. How much do you think it was inactivity vs him wanting to punch a hole through Canelo’s face for the lack of payday?

RJJ said something I agree with, 36 is not old when you’re elite and have not taken punishment. I think GGG has at least 2 more good years in the tank, I just hope he does not get frustrated as much. My dream scenario is Canelo in September (UD12, Canelo does what he did last time, opens up a bit more but gets caught doing so) and then BJS in January. After that a Charlo fight in Dallas for a farewell, because after Canelo in Vegas, and BJS in Manchester, the prize won’t be big enough for the prize fighter in GGG so he hangs it up. What do you think happens Doug?

MM:

Edmund Tarverdyan vs Abel Sanchez in a fight where they have to train themselves

Cheers Doug! Regards. – Abed

You know me, I’m a Sanchez/Summit Gym guy, and I don’t know a damn thing about MMA, so I gotta go with Abel by a GGG-esque second-round smash down.

GGG jabs Martirosyan. Photo / Tom Hogan

Regarding Golovkin-Martirosyan, I see no reason to over-analyze it. That’s a mistake that the HBO commentators made. There’s nothing to analyze. It was a stay busy fight. It was a Southern California “Cinco De Mayo” promotion that was salvaged from the ashes of the Canelo-Golovkin 2 PPV event. It wasn’t a “disgrace” as GGG’s asinine social-media detractors viewed it, it wasn’t “historic” as some members of the media made it out to be, and it damn sure wasn’t the kind of fight that could be used to assess GGG’s abilities or prime. It was just a fun night for GGG fans.

People as usual being a__holes online, but I saw a lot of people bitching that GGG should have been disqualified. Those people are silly ass dweebs.

So, I went back and watched the fight, I don’t see it, a fighter not yet down, got hit with a shot as he was collapsing. No problems in my eyes. What did you see? I saw what you saw. I saw GGG nail Martirosyan as the challenger was on his way down. If the punch landed as Martirosyan’s knee or one of his gloves touched canvas, it was accidental.  

GGG got hit with a punch by a boxer who has been inactive and is trained by IMHO the worst combat sports trainer in the game. I don’t think it is as big of an issue as people think. Who the hell thinks that Martirosyan landing a couple power shots to GGG’s dome is a big deal?

I think his entire performance can be summed up in one word: Frustration. Golovkin definitely had a lot built-up frustration from the Canelo-clenbuterol-suspension scandal in recent weeks (and probably going all the way back to the controversial result of their September fight), but I think it was kind of cathartic for him to get back into the ring and let his heavy hands go. Now he’s in position to fight twice more this year, and it’s been a goal of his to get back to a three- or four-bout-per-year schedule. That’s got to make him feel a little better.

Imagine you get a new job, great pay, great benefits, car, house, the whole shebang. Now two weeks in you get told to go work minimum wage as a fry cook. If I were him I’d be pissed and sloppy too. Golovkin may have been pissed, but he didn’t look “sloppy” to me. Anxious maybe, but not sloppy. And while I don’t think he’s happy about making a fraction of what he would have made with the Canelo rematch, Golovkin is not all about “the money.” I truly believe that it was more important for him to fight and remain active than it was for him to make a grip of moolah.  

GGG AND ‘KING RY’ HATERS

Hey Doug,

Two types of haters were flooding the social media universe this weekend: Ryan Garcia and GGG haters. Both for different reasons but not justifiable ones. First, let’s talk about Garcia.

He’s 19 years old and fighting his first true test. What do you expect?! The kid is loud on Instagram and I get some of you old-school-yet-to-be-modernized fans don’t like that, but if you don’t understand modern society and how it is to promote in this day and age, please stay out of social media to expose your ignorance. Most people that have been following boxing for years know that a kid at 19 is rarely ready for the big leagues and that matchmakers are usually bringing them up in competition. Didn’t Canelo face his own version of Jason Velez at around 21? Didn’t he get buzzed and almost dropped by Jose Miguel Cotto in the first round when he was about 19 or 20? Wasn’t Cotto a lightweight fighting at welter? Didn’t Oscar de la Hoya, a hall of fame fighter, get knocked down by Narciso Valenzuela early in his career? Dude, give the kid time. He has a following and its good for the sport. He’ll be whatever he’ll be, let’s just hope he gets good.

On to Gennady, I’m just glad he fought. I’m a fan of his style and the way he dismantles guys that have never been hurt before. The fact is nobody’s comfortable inside the ring with him, be it the elite likes Canelo and Jacobs (who fought a different style than usual against him) or the guys he needs to beat like Vanes. I just didn’t expect a seasoned veteran to be blown out with such ease. I wonder what Jermell Charlo, Erislandy Lara and Demetrius Andrade are thinking as the guy went the distance with all three of them and made a case for himself at least in two of those fights. Gennady just blew him away. All of those guys talk the talk but haven’ fought anybody that would be considered on Jacobs or Canelo’s level.

For now, I’m glad there’s a kid like Garcia that’s moving the needle for the future and Gennady who’s a pro’s pro. Thanks Doug. – Juan Valverde, San Diego

Me too, Juan.

Garcia got the job done against Velez. Photo / Tom Hogan

Garcia went the 10-round distance against a former contender/title challenger in his 15^th pro bout, and probably learned more about himself in those 10 rounds than he did with his previous 14 bouts combined. That’s a good thing. He headlined an ESPN-televised show at StubHub Center, brought in 6,600 fans, in his 15^th pro bout. That’s a good thing.  

Golovkin took out a fellow veteran in two rounds and thrilled his fans – 7,800 of them – at the same venue the very next day. That’s a good thing.

Two boxers – one at the very beginning of a promising career, the other a champion at his peak and on his way to the hall of fame – packed a popular outdoor venue on back-to-back nights. That’s a good sign for boxing.

Both boxers have their own brand of charisma and both have their own dedicated fans. That’s a good thing.

There’s no reason for anyone to bitch about either fighter. They can critique their form if that turns them on (neither are technically perfect, especially Garcia), but as you point out, anyone who thinks they understand boxing should know that “KingRy” is still very much a work in progress and that Golovkin’s fundamentals are as sound as any active fighter in the game.

Didn’t Canelo face his own version of Jason Velez at around 21? He was 19, but he had 32 pro bouts under his belt.

Didn’t he get buzzed and almost dropped by Jose Miguel Cotto in the first round when he was about 19 or 20? He got ROCKED – hard – but kept his composure and dropped the Puerto Rican veteran in the following round.

Wasn’t Cotto a lightweight fighting at welter? Cotto was a former lightweight title challenger, who fought as light as junior featherweight early in his career,  fighting at JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT. They weighed in above 147 pounds.

Didn’t Oscar de la Hoya, a hall of fame fighter, get knocked down by Narciso Valenzuela early in his career? Yes Sir. Those scary moments are part of boxing and part of a young fighter’s development. (But can you imagine if Twitter was around for De La Hoya-Valenzuela or Alvarez vs. Jose Cotto? We’d have to hear that neither prospect would amount to s__t from a hundred know-it-alls.)

On to Gennady, I’m just glad he fought. Me too. The “Big Drama Show” is still a special live experience.

The fact is nobody’s comfortable inside the ring with him, be it the elite likes Canelo and Jacobs (who fought a different style than usual against him) or the guys he needs to beat like Vanes. That’s the truth, Juan.

I just didn’t expect a seasoned veteran to be blown out with such ease. Neither did I. I thought Martirosyan was going to last at least until the eighth round. However, I also expected him to employ a stick-and-move game in the early rounds.

I wonder what Jermell Charlo, Erislandy Lara and Demetrius Andrade are thinking as the guy went the distance with all three of them and made a case for himself at least in two of those fights. My guess is that they’re vowing NOT to fight an aggressive fight against GGG if they ever wind up sharing the ring with the unified 160-pound champ.

All of those guys talk the talk but haven’ fought anybody that would be considered on Jacobs or Canelo’s level. Well, Lara did fight Canelo, but you’re not wrong about the other two.

BRAEKHUS-REIS, BELLEW’S FUTURE

Hi Dougie,

Hope all is well with you and yours. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, as I’ve said this before, women’s boxing need to go to three-minute rounds to become more than a novelty, despite Jim Lampley’s cheerleading for the fast pace of the women’s fights.

The Cecilia Braekus-Kali Reis bout could have been a good fight if it followed the standard three-minute round. Reis had the champion in trouble at the end of the 8th round, really rocked her at about the 2-minute mark and Braekhus was saved by the bell.  Who know what might have happened if another minute was left? Reis lost at least four of the first five rounds, but was coming on, had the knockdown in the seventh, and a fight was threatening to break out in the eighth. Two-minute rounds insult the toughness of women boxers. Also, were there any body shots thrown by either fighter? I’d have to watch it again, but I don’t remember one.

What does the future hold for Tony Bellew after his KO of David Haye? His pre- and post-fight comments seem to indicate he’s dealing with reality when thinking about the champions, but is there even a possibility that Andre Ward comes out of retirement and accepts his challenge? Could he stand a chance against Tyson Fury or any of the top-ten heavyweights?

As always, thanks for bringing the Mailbag into our homes. – Ken Kozberg, Oakham, MA

You’re welcome, Ken. Thanks for the kind words.

I don’t see Bellew competing with Fury and the top heavyweights. They’re just too damn big. However, I can see him competing with Ward at 200 pounds and the winner of the WBSS cruiserweight tournament at 215 pounds. And I would be into those matchups.  

Reis had her moments against Braekhus. Photo / German Villasenor

Regarding Braekhus-Reis. I agree with Lampley that there’s something to be said about the fast-pace nature of two-minute rounds, but I also believe that female boxers should at least have the option of fighting three-minute rounds – especially if they are world champions like Braekhus.  

I agree that Reis could have won the fight if she had an extra minute in each round (especially the late rounds). I also think there could have been a different outcome had the bout been scheduled for 12 rounds instead of 10.  

Having said that, I believe that the right woman won. I thought Braekhus won seven rounds.

BELLEW DOES IT AGAIN

Hey Dougie,

So Bellew surprised us all again! More people picked him to win this time but I don’t think anyone expected such a destructive, one sided victory.

There’s some things I need to get off my chest though Doug; I’ve read some “fans” calling this a casual’s fight and meaningless. However, despite the pantomime build up this isn’t Mayweather V McGregor. It’s two credible, arguably world class fighters both at an important crossroad in their careers. In Bellew’s case his legacy has definitely been enhanced. For me, it’s not the fact he beat David Haye twice – it’s the way he did it. In both fights he showed fundamentals, ring IQ and a chin that I and many others didn’t think he had. As for Haye? Well, it’s not for me to tell a fighter it’s time to retire but it’s difficult to see where he would go if he carried on. There’s talk of Joshua V Haye but I don’t want to see a fighter get hurt. I’d like to think people will remember the exciting, explosive Haye who became one of the greatest cruiserweights ever and the only guy apart from Holyfield to both unify the cruiserweight world titles and then become a world heavyweight champion. However, I fear most people will remember him for the boorish behaviour towards the end of his career and so called “failures” against Bellew and Klitschko.

Looking forward, I guess the big question is where Bellew goes next. After the fight a typically excitable Bomber called out literally everyone – Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte, the winner of the Super Series Cruiserweight Final and even Andre Ward! Personally I’d like to see him fight Fury – the press conferences and build up alone would be off the scale! You may think I’m as crazy as The Bomber himself but in a strange way the Ward fight also makes sense to me. As with the Haye fights Bellew would have nothing to lose and everything to gain should he cause a massive upset. Bellew is naturally the bigger, more powerful fighter and in the form of his life while Ward, at 34, and with over a year out inactive may not be quite the same fighter he was. It’s still a big ask but if the Bomber has only one or two fights left why not go for a fight that would really enhance his legacy even more? Cheers. – Mark from the UK

I think a showdown with Ward makes the most sense – if Ward is willing to come out of retirement (and willing to rise in weight at least to the cruiserweight limit). Both veterans were in the Creed movie and are known and respected on both sides of the pond. Ward retired unbeaten and is considered a future hall of famer, while Bellew is at the apex of his career. Plus, the Liverpool native is a natural promoter, he’d push the promotions to crossover levels. And I give him a real shot in that matchup.

I don’t want to see Bellew fight Fury or Whyte, because I think he could get seriously hurt fighting those guys. Even the WBSS winner would be very dangerous (especially if it’s Murat Gassiev).

I’ve read some “fans” calling this a casual’s fight and meaningless. It but butts in the seats and it entertained. That’s not “meaningless.” Some “fans” really aren’t fans.

However, despite the pantomime build up this isn’t Mayweather V McGregor. Not at all. Both men are experienced former world titleholders.

Bellew (right) tags Haye. Photo by Lawrence Lustig

In Bellew’s case his legacy has definitely been enhanced. For me, it’s not the fact he beat David Haye twice – it’s the way he did it. He did it with craft, grit and style, didn’t he?

As for Haye? Well, it’s not for me to tell a fighter it’s time to retire but it’s difficult to see where he would go if he carried on. Haye should definitely not “carry on.” He’s accomplished a lot in boxing and he’s made a lot of money. I feel like’s been semi-retired since the Klitschko fight. It’s time to make that official.

There’s talk of Joshua V Haye but I don’t want to see a fighter get hurt. Who the f__k is talking about Joshua-Haye after what happened on Saturday?

NOT REALLY A MYTHICAL MATCHUP

Doug –

Who would you pick between Canelo and Jacobs? – Kevin Key, Duluth, MN

I think Jacobs’ size, athleticism and mobile style of boxing is all wrong for Canelo, but I see the version of Canelo that fought GGG beating the version of Jacobs that we’ve seen against Luis Arias and Maciej Sulecki. However, I’ll take the Jacobs that fought GGG over the Canelo that fought GGG. I see the Miracle Man winning on points (competitive but clear unanimous decision – or a split/majority decision if the fight takes place in Vegas).

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