Golovkin and Abel Sanchez talk Macklin fight

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Getting To Know You - Gennady Golovkin talks Macklin Fight. Livefight Exclusive
11.05.2013

By @John_Evans79


What You Don’t Know Can’t Hurt You.

So far, Gennady Golovkin has made a mockery of that well-worn phrase.

Despite operating under the radar for much of his career, stories and rumours have circulated for years about the heavy handed, exciting Kazakhstani poised to dominate the middleweight division. When we have seen him he has looked devastating, blowing away opponent after opponent in a cool, calm, frightening manner. His 26 straight victories contain 23 early finishes.




Highly ranked opponents have shied away from him and television executives had – until recently- failed to see the benefit of showcasing a dangerous eastern European capable of beating their more highly valued cash cows.

Finally things appear to be changing but we still know precious little about Golovkin.

We can be certain of one thing; Golovkin is good. But when ‘GGG’ defends his WBA middleweight title against Britain’s Matthew Macklin, we will get our first real opportunity to find out exactly how good. After June 29th, we will know a lot more about Gennady Golovkin.

“Right now this is the biggest challenge and opponent I have had in my boxing career,” Golovkin told Livefight recently. “I saw his fights with Sergio Martinez and thought ‘wow, this is a serious tough guy.’ His last fight [a first round stoppage of Joachim Alcine] was very good too because he has power and a plan.

“I think Macklin is a very good fighter. I think we are the same size and I think we have the same power and the same speed. He’s a good fighter and after fighting Sergio and his last fight [Joachim Alcine] he is a lot smarter. This is good. It’s good for me and good for him.

“I respect him as a very good man and a very good boxer. This is a very serious fight and we’re in a very serious situation right now.

“I’m ready and I feel good. I am ready for a good fight and a close fight.”

Let’s clear up a couple of those rumours about Golovkin. He may be seen as an exciting new face in the 160lb division but, in reality, he is something of a veteran. He claimed gold at the 2003 World Championships and silver at the 2004 Olympic Games and has competed professionally for seven years. As I recently found out, the man painted as a murderous punching monster is actually quietly spoken, smart and modest and yes, he really is willing to face absolutely anybody from light middleweight to super middleweight.

Golovkin, 31, is trained by Abel Sanchez and nobody is better qualified to flesh out the stories surrounding his man than the renowned trainer.

“The first time I caught him on the mitts is when I told him he could be the best middleweight ever. His ability has mushroomed and he’s grown so much in the last two years. It’s fun to look at the future and see what could be done,” Sanchez told me. “He’s such a pleasure to be around. He’s really quiet, not boisterous, not always bragging. He’s a family man that happens to be a boxer. He won’t demean or belittle anybody. To him it’s a business. It’s not about anybody being less than him, it’s not personal.

“His best weight is 160lbs. I would like him to stay at 160lb but it’s not up to us. It depends on who’s out there to fight. If we stay at 160lb but aren’t fighting the fights people want to see then we’ll be criticised. If we can drop to 154lb and get some of those names or maybe up to 168lbs then we won’t get that criticism. His best weight is definitely 160lbs though.”

Macklin, 29-4 (20), is an opponent the fans want to see. The 30 year old has performed well in world class company in recent years, losing a highly contentious decision to Felix Sturm in June 2011 and being withdrawn by his corner after eleven give and take rounds with Sergio Martinez last March. He is certainly a step up from Gabriel Rosado and Nobuhiro Ishida, Golovkin’s last two opponents.

“I’m extremely happy that the public and writers are seeing him as that,” Sanchez said of Macklin. “He’s got some good fights under his belt and he’s a legitimate middleweight so at least there won’t be those questions.




“The best part about it is that they both have similar styles so it’s gonna be an exciting fight for all of us outside the ring! For the trainers, the networks and fans it’s gonna be a fight where you’re on the edge of your seat. They’re gonna go at each other.

“I’ve always been a believer that we go out and have a look at what we have in front of us and decipher what we want to do between the first and second rounds. I think Gennady’s boxing ability is not so much as a dancer, Gennady’s ability is on the inside and being able to work with what’s given to him. I want him right in front of Macklin and doing exactly what he needs to do to make it an exciting fight.

“Once the first round – or even the first minute – has passed of them standing in front of each other, Macklin will determine how he wants to fight the fight. I know how I want Gennady to fight but it all depends on how Macklin wants to approach it. If Gennady hits as hard as people say, then how will he approach it? Hopefully, he thinks that he hits just as hard and then we’ll have a fight.”

Should Golovkin overcome Macklin, he will again turn his attention to the divisions bigger names. So far, his fellow champions Peter Quillin, Daniel Geale and Martinez have shown scant interest in challenging him to unify the division. Clearly, the risk outweighs the reward. It isn’t for the want of trying on the part of Golovkin.

“Geale, Quillin and the same situation with Sergio Martinez. This is business. I want to fight, it doesn’t matter who with,” he says. “I know my power and what I can do. I want the fights and say all the time ‘Come on guys, I’m ready!” Not just for me but for the fans and the sport. We have four champions and people want to know who is the best.”

Whilst Sanchez obviously doesn’t want the fight with Macklin to descend into a life and death late round struggle, he does acknowledge that a crack or two appearing in his student’s teak tough exterior may be the quickest way to entice the bigger names into the ring.

“I hope that this fight goes six, seven or eight rounds,” Sanchez says. “Only because then we might get other fighters in the ring. The bad part about knocking fighters out early is that you do get a reputation as a monster and somebody nobody wants to get in the ring with. If it does get to the later rounds of the fight, it’ll give him a hint of vulnerability to everyone else and they’ll think that maybe he isn’t a big puncher and that they can fight him. If this fight is short then we’re gonna lose even more opponents because nobody is gonna want to go in there with him.”




Although he has yet to fully grab the attention of the casual fan, importantly Golovkin has quickly won over sections of the sometimes sceptical American press. No mean feat for an eastern European arriving in the United States with a limited grasp of English and no TV deal. The bad news for his rivals is that Golovkin has settled in well and feels he is benefiting from the change and will be staying. He will no longer be out of sight, out of mind.

“I train every day and it’s a hard day every day!” Golovkin laughed. “I like to power box. In Germany, there is no power boxing. It is strategy boxing. I don’t say every fight was easy but in America there is more power, more conditioning and more speed. This is boxing. In Germany a small number of people watch boxing, in America everybody knows and understand boxing and my style.

“In America I’m much better. My practices, my physical conditioning. Everything is much better in America for boxing.”

Like it or not, it seems like the world’s top middleweights won’t be able to avoid getting to know Gennady Golovkin for much longer.

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