Genadin "GGG" Golovkin: An All-Time Great Middleweight?

[elmersalsa]

I saw GGG's video clips yesterday and I am impressed by his punching power. He really looks like a real middleweight. I also saw his record, and he already has 15 world title defenses!

In your view, is this guy an all-time great at 160lbs, or does he needs to prove something more?

How about a fight with the great Floyd Mayweather, Jr., for the World Middleweight Title? Is that a FAIR FIGHT for Pretty Boy Floyd?

[littlepug]

not yet hes not, not really bothered sbout a mayweather fight would be more happy to see him collect all the belts and then reign at middle for a few years.

[man]

I saw GGG's video clips yesterday and I am impressed by his punching power. He really looks like a real middleweight. I also saw his record, and he already has 15 world title defenses!

In your view, is this guy an all-time great at 160lbs, or does he needs to prove something more?

he is up there with the best. but for an ATG
ranking he needs bigger bouts and that very
soon because he is peaking as we speak.

How about a fight with the great Floyd Mayweather, Jr., for the World Middleweight Title? Is that a FAIR FIGHT for Pretty Boy Floyd?

i am not a floyd hugger, but that is just asking
too much from a naturally much smaller man.

[crusader]

He may well have ATG ability, but he's lacking resume-wise.

[ClivePatrickLyons]

I remember a heavyweight who had the same aura about him his name was Mike Tyson this was when he was undefeated and opponent's were scared of him just like GGG he was being hailed the best ever...................In today's all time greatest heavyweight list Tyson is rarely mentioned near the top of anyone's list but still he is a all time great just not as great as first thought I suspect the same will happen with GGG he will be remembered as a all time great just not as great as first thought

[Bobbyptsd]

He may well have ATG ability, but he's lacking resume-wise.

I would agree with this. He has to have some wins over a higher level of fighters to be considered in that discussion. Now that may well not be his fault, and he may well have been avoided, but that's his problem, really.

[elmersalsa]

At least, he could make the top 20 middleweight rankings of all-time if he retires tomorrow. He got 15 world title defenses and has unified all the belts, I believe.

[elmersalsa]

Other facts about this guy:

He has an amateur record of 345-5. That's a lot fights.

He has 15 straight world title wins by knockout. That means, if he scores 3 more KOs in his 3 next title bouts, he will tie the record of the great Wilfredo Gomez of Puerto Rico. Gomez scored 17 straight title defenses by KO of his WBC World Super Bantamweight crown between 1977 and 1983.

GGG already has the record of most consecutive world title wins by knockout with 15. Gomez had the world record from 1977-80 with 14. The great Salvador Sanchez ended that streak, but, Gomez had to jump on weight.

Nevertheless, This guy GGG, can bang! A top 50 all time KO puncher? No doubt about that. He got to be into consideration.

[Like a Boss]

Best to rank fighters against the all-time greats once they have completed their careers. GGG is certainly on the right track though.

[Controversial]

Other facts about this guy:

He has an amateur record of 345-5. That's a lot fights.

He has 15 straight world title wins by knockout. That means, if he scores 3 more KOs in his 3 next title bouts, he will tie the record of the great Wilfredo Gomez of Puerto Rico. Gomez scored 17 straight title defenses by KO of his WBC World Super Bantamweight crown between 1977 and 1983.

GGG already has the record of most consecutive world title wins by knockout with 15. Gomez had the world record from 1977-80 with 14. The great Salvador Sanchez ended that streak, but, Gomez had to jump on weight.

Also he's never been dropped as a pro or amateur. He also has the highest KO % of any middleweight champ in history.

[elmersalsa]

Other facts about this guy:

He has an amateur record of 345-5. That's a lot fights.

He has 15 straight world title wins by knockout. That means, if he scores 3 more KOs in his 3 next title bouts, he will tie the record of the great Wilfredo Gomez of Puerto Rico. Gomez scored 17 straight title defenses by KO of his WBC World Super Bantamweight crown between 1977 and 1983.

GGG already has the record of most consecutive world title wins by knockout with 15. Gomez had the world record from 1977-80 with 14. The great Salvador Sanchez ended that streak, but, Gomez had to jump on weight.

Also he's never been dropped as a pro or amateur. He also has the highest KO % of any middleweight champ in history.

That's another great point, Controversial.

[elmersalsa]

Would anyone of you will give GGG consideration of top 50 greatest KO punchers?

How about top 20 all time middleweight rankings?

How about a fight between him and:
Miguel Cotto
Andre Ward
Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Sergio Martinez

Or a dream all time match of GGG and these guys at middleweight:
Gerald McClellan
Nigel Benn
Julian Jackson
Iran Barkley

[pound per pound]

He may well have ATG ability, but he's lacking resume-wise.

Was Hopkins, Monzon's or Hagler's competition that great? You can argue not really vs. natural middleweights.

Golovkin's biggest problem is no one is willing ( Ahem Canelo ) to fight him at 160

On skills, power, and the ability to take a punch, heck yes Golovkin is a great one.

[Bodyshot3]

GGG is getting there for sure....best of his era with numerous defences and some of them really emphatic....but I think he needs a few more to really cement an ATG ranking.

Not that bothered by a Mayweather fight - know I should be and all that because he's a massive talent - but I'd rather see GGG move up and take-on the super middleweights than starve himself to death and have a pretend 'middleweight' fight with Floyd. GGG versus De Gale far more my cup of tea.

[dr_devious]

He may well have ATG ability, but he's lacking resume-wise.

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He is a great fighter, no doubt, but he's been unfortunate not to have any big names to face at 160 during his time so far.

I don't want to see him fight Mayweather Jr, because Floyd is a little guy & he would be in a no win situation.

If he sparks Floyd, folk will say Golovkin wiped out a little man; if Floyd outclasses him, everyone will say Golovkin was overrated all along.

Golovkin needs to wait for the winner of Alvarez -v- Cotto, then he needs to go up to 168 test himself against some of the guys there.

[jezzamundo]

If he retired today, I think he'd make the IBHOF. That said, to me, he's not yet an ATG. It's a real shame that his career didn't really start gaining momentum until he was 30 - imagine if he'd been matched against Sturm in 2010 and had been defending the full WBA title against solid opposition since then. Potential fights with Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams, he could have unified the belts before Cotto even decided to go up to middleweight.

In terms of ability, he's certainly one of the best ever, though it would be good to see him tested against another great like Froch (not now, but when he was still active) or Ward. A Mayweather fight at 154lb would have been very interesting too.

[elmersalsa]

How about GGG vs Julian Jackson in his prime?
Who wins and why?

[Jpreisser]

But he doesn't have 15 defenses or 15 knockouts in 15 "world" title fights. Again, to count those defenses of his "regular" strap when Sturm and Geale had the real title is nonsense. He's got 10. With that said, he is on the right track and should continue what he is doing. He should unify the belts and defend at a pace of 3-4 times a year. At that clip he would be able to surpass, or get very close to Hopkins' mark in 3 years. I think that does wonders for his legacy, even if the competition isn't generally high. Right now though, I don't see GGG as a top-20 guy, but he is getting fairly close.

[crusader]

But he doesn't have 15 defenses or 15 knockouts in 15 "world" title fights. Again, to count those defenses of his "regular" strap when Sturm and Geale had the real title is nonsense. He's got 10. With that said, he is on the right track and should continue what he is doing. He should unify the belts and defend at a pace of 3-4 times a year. At that clip he would be able to surpass, or get very close to Hopkins' mark in 3 years. I think that does wonders for his legacy, even if the competition isn't generally high. Right now though, I don't see GGG as a top-20 guy, but he is getting fairly close.

As right as you are about the 'regular' title defenses that seems to be generally overlooked in his case, and hence I'm not sure if it will hurt his legacy much.

[Crease]

For me I'd like to see him fight Cotto and Canelo - I'd fancy him to beat both of them. But If those fights happen and he wins them convincingly by KOs then I think we'd all really have to seriously consider him getting close to the top 10.

Those are the really the contenders around the Middleweight division that I'd like to see him in the ring with.

[davie]

Not yet and possibly not ever.

P4P he might be a match for many of the top guys in the history of the division but if he can't get the best to fight him he might be too good for his own good (as daft as that sounds)

He needs some big wins, recognised names on his record or he could go down in history as a long reigning champion who fought nobody of note.
A real shame, given his talent and particularly given he would fight anyoneIMO. But the guy is scary and top names want to steer clear of him

He missed the opportunity with the likes of Sturm and Martinez and the best names available just now are LMWs or SMW/LHWs.

He could unify the division by beating Andy Lee, Miguel Cotto, Peter Quillin and still get very little credit.

[Jpreisser]

But he doesn't have 15 defenses or 15 knockouts in 15 "world" title fights. Again, to count those defenses of his "regular" strap when Sturm and Geale had the real title is nonsense. He's got 10. With that said, he is on the right track and should continue what he is doing. He should unify the belts and defend at a pace of 3-4 times a year. At that clip he would be able to surpass, or get very close to Hopkins' mark in 3 years. I think that does wonders for his legacy, even if the competition isn't generally high. Right now though, I don't see GGG as a top-20 guy, but he is getting fairly close.

As right as you are about the 'regular' title defenses that seems to be generally overlooked in his case, and hence I'm not sure if it will hurt his legacy much.

I don't think it hurts much either. In fact, I rarely hear people talk about it. But I do think it is worth noting, and I do think it will be spotlighted more and more as his defense total becomes more numerous.

[DrDuke]

Golovkin is an ATG for sure. I have no doubt, he will be in the IBHOF, cause he has an appropriate record for that. However, we all know, what his problem is. His prime was in time, where there was no remarkable opposition. Even in the very close to his reign time there were some guys in the likes of Pirog, Pavlik and Martinez, who could have troubled Golovkin. But then there was nobody and really tough opposition has appeared just recently.

We also should take into consideration the fact, that Golovkin had a hard fight against declining Ouma, when he was even not an actual champion, but a regular. And who are the biggest names he defeated? Brook, Jacobs and Canelo (not to count an actual decision, which is unfairly draw) for the moment. All of them troubled GGG. And there is such a thing, that Golovkin is already aging, what can serve as an excuse for opponents' success. Anyway it's clear, that Jacobs and Canelo are better, than Rosado or Macklin, or Stevens, or Rubio, or Wade, etc, etc, etc. Furthermore, here are Charlo on the line with BJS, who is likely to be improving, and maybe Hurd will be a comer in the MW in the near future.

Well, Golovkin's career isn't over yet despite him being aging, but he already has a resume of an ATG, maybe not name-wise, but number-wise. Anyway even Hopkins' biggest scalps are Trinidad and De La Hoya, who are from lower categories and logically had their best times there. But many people feel free to name Hopkins a top-10 all-time middleweight, so Golovkin will most likely gain similar status.