Who would beat Golovkin at MW, past or present?

[ElJefe]

Golovkin for me beats any present day MW. He did beat Jacobs (by 3 pts on my card) and he did beat Canelo in reality (by 4 pts on my card). I'd still pick him over Saunders. Charlo looks like the goods, I think he gives anyone hell, but I want to see him in with a legit top 10 MW before I put my neck out and say he'd beat GGG. He beats Sergio Martinez, Jermain Taylor and Kelly Pavlik convincingly.

As for Hopkins, Jones, Toney. I posted this about 20 months ago when GGG was much closer to his prime.

I think he probably outworks Toney. As good as Toney was, and he's one of my favourites of all time, you can't argue that plenty of fighters were able to take rounds off him so I think GGG would probably just get the better of him. The contrasting styles and the way Toney could counter guys who walked forwards however mean that this would probably be the best of the 3 to watch.

In terms of styles Hopkins might actually have the best chance with his ability to go from range to the inside quickly, putting Golovkin on the back foot, smothering his work and then getting out. Saying that, I would again side with Golovkin to win a close decision. I could see Golovkin using his jab a lot rather than a seek and destroy mission, with Hopkins' work rate lowering late on as he feels Golovkin's power.

As for Jones I have no idea. I've said before I'd pick Roy over anyone at 168, but he was a younger fighter and 160. Not the 380+ fight veteran that GGG is. I honestly have no clue on this one. Fvck it. Roy UD. Too fast.

[leftrightleft]

Idk if anyone agrees but I think someone like Bomber Graham would’ve caused GGG big problems before eventually getting koed.

[gilgamesh]

Idk if anyone agrees but I think someone like Bomber Graham would’ve caused GGG big problems before eventually getting koed.

I don't doubt it. That's kinda his M.O.

So close, and yet so far.

[happyNY18]

It would take a runner with faster feet, faster hands and a longer reach. A prime Floyd would have a good chance but if G cut the ring and got close he would have too much firepower. Golovkin vs Leonard Hearns or Hagler would be fun.

[boxing_rocks]

Canelo today.

That shows how delusional you are. No need to read any further.

[Taansend]

I would loved to have seen him v Stanley Ketchel.

[squiggy]

Well, he was badly outpointed by Hagler yesterday. (In my own fantasy tournament.)

[Kalan]

even jermain taylor wouldve had a very good chance to beat him

Taylor would be a 1-round job... It was evident Kelly Pavlik was going to easily beat Taylor and he already had a drinking problem... Martinez beat Pavlik... Cotto stopped Martinez... Canelo beat Cotto.... GGG beat a much more mature Canelo.

Don't pretend Taylor who was knocked out by Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham - could beat GGG

[Loki]

even jermain taylor wouldve had a very good chance to beat him

Taylor would be a 1-round job... It was evident Kelly Pavlik was going to easily beat Taylor and he already had a drinking problem... Martinez beat Pavlik... Cotto stopped Martinez... Canelo beat Cotto.... GGG beat a much more mature Canelo.

Don't pretend Taylor who was knocked out by Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham - could beat GGG

I don’t often agree with you, but spot on here. GGG would ice Taylor.

Strangely enough, I was looking at BHOPs legacy at 160 and its a lot worse than I remember.

[Enlightened-One]

I would loved to have seen him v Stanley Ketchel.

Here are some questions that should be very easy to answer for anyone that believes that Stanley Ketchel is capable of beating GGG:

• How many Stanley Ketchel fights are freely available to watch online?
• When did you first watch Stanley Ketchel?
• What are some of your favourite Stanley Ketchel fights?
• What is Stanley Ketchel’s fighting style?
• Which opponents did Stanley Ketchel face that impressed you the most?

[Thomastearns]

It would take a runner with faster feet, faster hands and a longer reach. A prime Floyd would have a good chance but if G cut the ring and got close he would have too much firepower. Golovkin vs Leonard Hearns or Hagler would be fun.

GGG v Hearns would be a blast - short and explosive. We know Golovkin has a granite chin but Tommy Hearns had dynamite in his quicksilver fists. He could also box the socks off anybody if he wanted to.

Duran knew his way around a boxing ring too. Has there ever been a boxer more comfortable than Roberto inside a boxing ring?

Ultimately though, for me it comes down to Gennady Golovkin v Marvelous Marvin Hagler. I can't, and don't want to pick a winner.

[NateJR]

I'd favor Hopkins, Hagler, Monzon, RJJ and SRR over GGG any day of the week. I think Leonard would have a good shot at out pointing GGG as well. A prime James Toney would also be a tough fight for GGG. No doubt GGG belongs in the mix but hes not the best MW ever for me, but a clear top 5-10.

[greg]

..I'm not looking for the one and only..the fact that boxing fans compare GGG to Hagler, Hearns and Co. is a huge achievement in itself irrespective of who's gonna win this hypothetical bout..

[Enlightened-One]

Golovkin is a really good fighter and he may have enjoyed some success over several Hall-of-Fame 160lb-ers, but there aren’t enough big names on his resume to confidently claim that he could hold his own against some of the legends that people in this thread are claiming that he would decimate.

GGG has beaten three top-five world-rated middleweights – one of them was a moderately controversial decision and was also held to a draw against a light middleweight that was the only pound-for-pounder fighter he has ever faced.

I understand what the proverbial “eyeball” test means and also the reason why people apply it, but Gennady’s resume isn’t strong enough for me to confidently claim that he’s capable of beating any of the all-time-greats.

That being said, I suspect that Gennady’s size advantage over the legends of yesteryear is enough of a factor that would have allowed him to defeat some of boxing’s 160lb biggest historical names, since he usually enters the ring around the 173lbs+ mark, whereas fighters like Marvin Hagler had to endure morning of the fight weigh-in’s, sometimes weighing as little as 157lbs. A few of the current crop of welterweights might even be "bigger" than Hagler was.

I believe that oversized weight cutters is a relatively recent phenomena, which means that modern day fighters would hold a significant physical size advantage over their historical counterparts that competed in the same weight class.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I'd favor Hopkins, Hagler, Monzon, RJJ and SRR over GGG any day of the week. I think Leonard would have a good shot at out pointing GGG as well. A prime James Toney would also be a tough fight for GGG. No doubt GGG belongs in the mix but hes not the best MW ever for me, but a clear top 5-10.

You beat me to it.

I think those guys were all better than GGG, though Leonard wasn't really a MW for most of his career, his style would have been murder for GGG. Leonard was tough and Golovkin couldn't have outworked him to a win.

I like Golovkin, but I think we saw that once he stepped up the level of competition against Canelo and Jacobs, he wasn't able to dominate. He looks great against people who are there to be hit, but against good defensive fighters, or ones who move well, he struggles.

Although I thought he won against Canelo, it was far from emphatic, and there were a lot of close rounds. Hagler would have been too much for GGG, of that I have no doubt, Monzon had the right tools, Toney and RJJ were only briefly at MW, so it is assess how good they were. Hopkins is a close fight I think.

[jezzamundo]

No as a matter of fact Hopkins was the first person to ever defeat Glen Johnson. Glen was 32-0 heading into that one.

I guess I should check BoxRec before posting. I could’ve sworn he’d lost a few early fights. I stand corrected. But, I still take GGG win over Jacobs and the W he should’ve got over Canelo.

Yeah I had him beating Canelo wider than he beat Jacobs personally.

Yep, I thought GGG won both, but I could accept a 114-113 Jacobs card, but there's no way I could see anyone scoring the fight for Canelo without having some kind of bias.

[jezzamundo]

Golovkin for me beats any present day MW. He did beat Jacobs (by 3 pts on my card) and he did beat Canelo in reality (by 4 pts on my card). I'd still pick him over Saunders. Charlo looks like the goods, I think he gives anyone hell, but I want to see him in with a legit top 10 MW before I put my neck out and say he'd beat GGG. He beats Sergio Martinez, Jermain Taylor and Kelly Pavlik convincingly.

As for Hopkins, Jones, Toney. I posted this about 20 months ago when GGG was much closer to his prime.

I think he probably outworks Toney. As good as Toney was, and he's one of my favourites of all time, you can't argue that plenty of fighters were able to take rounds off him so I think GGG would probably just get the better of him. The contrasting styles and the way Toney could counter guys who walked forwards however mean that this would probably be the best of the 3 to watch.

In terms of styles Hopkins might actually have the best chance with his ability to go from range to the inside quickly, putting Golovkin on the back foot, smothering his work and then getting out. Saying that, I would again side with Golovkin to win a close decision. I could see Golovkin using his jab a lot rather than a seek and destroy mission, with Hopkins' work rate lowering late on as he feels Golovkin's power.

As for Jones I have no idea. I've said before I'd pick Roy over anyone at 168, but he was a younger fighter and 160. Not the 380+ fight veteran that GGG is. I honestly have no clue on this one. Fvck it. Roy UD. Too fast.

Great post, not much to disagree with there.

[DrDuke]

In addition to multiply mentioned Hagler, Monzon, RJJ, Toney, Hopkins I'll add Leonard, Hearns, McCallum, Pavlik, Martinez, McClellan, Pirog. Probably Taylor and Duran also.

From present I give real chances to Canelo, Jacobs and BJS.

[Taansend]

I would loved to have seen him v Stanley Ketchel.

Here are some questions that should be very easy to answer for anyone that believes that Stanley Ketchel is capable of beating GGG:

• How many Stanley Ketchel fights are freely available to watch online?
• When did you first watch Stanley Ketchel?
• What are some of your favourite Stanley Ketchel fights?
• What is Stanley Ketchel’s fighting style?
• Which opponents did Stanley Ketchel face that impressed you the most?

You really are a sad pathetic little man, aren't you

[Enlightened-One]

I would loved to have seen him v Stanley Ketchel.

Here are some questions that should be very easy to answer for anyone that believes that Stanley Ketchel is capable of beating GGG:

• How many Stanley Ketchel fights are freely available to watch online?
• When did you first watch Stanley Ketchel?
• What are some of your favourite Stanley Ketchel fights?
• What is Stanley Ketchel’s fighting style?
• Which opponents did Stanley Ketchel face that impressed you the most?

You really are a sad pathetic little man, aren't you

It seems you've understood the point I was making!

I prefer responses like that than if you'd dishonestly pretended to know the unknowable.

Good for you.

[Taansend]

Here are some questions that should be very easy to answer for anyone that believes that Stanley Ketchel is capable of beating GGG:

• How many Stanley Ketchel fights are freely available to watch online?
• When did you first watch Stanley Ketchel?
• What are some of your favourite Stanley Ketchel fights?
• What is Stanley Ketchel’s fighting style?
• Which opponents did Stanley Ketchel face that impressed you the most?

You really are a sad pathetic little man, aren't you

It seems you've understood the point I was making!

I prefer responses like that than if you'd dishonestly pretend to know the unknowable.

Good for you.

I tell you what. You explain to me why it wouldn't have been an exciting fight.

Ready steady GO.....

[Enlightened-One]

You really are a sad pathetic little man, aren't you

It seems you've understood the point I was making!

I prefer responses like that than if you'd dishonestly pretend to know the unknowable.

Good for you.

I tell you what. You explain to me why it wouldn't have been an exciting fight.

Ready steady GO.....

Which set of EuroMillion numbers will be drawn to determine the winner of tonight's jackpot?

[Taansend]

It seems you've understood the point I was making!

I prefer responses like that than if you'd dishonestly pretend to know the unknowable.

Good for you.

I tell you what. You explain to me why it wouldn't have been an exciting fight.

Ready steady GO.....

Which set of EuroMillion numbers will be drawn to determine the winner of tonight's jackpot?

So, just to recap.

I think GGG v Ketchel would be fun to watch and you just want to type a load of nonsense to get noticed.

Well done

[Enlightened-One]

I tell you what. You explain to me why it wouldn't have been an exciting fight.

Ready steady GO.....

Which set of EuroMillion numbers will be drawn to determine the winner of tonight's jackpot?

So, just to recap.

I think GGG v Ketchel would be fun to watch and you just want to type a load of nonsense to get noticed.

Well done

I asked a set of rather simple questions about Ketchel that you are unable answer.

People often mention the names of people or refer to specific terminology in order to pretend that they're knowledgeable.

I wanted to ascertain whether or not you were that kind of guy.

To be honest, I can't answer any of the questions I've posed and I would have been delighted if you were able to answer them.

[Taansend]

Which set of EuroMillion numbers will be drawn to determine the winner of tonight's jackpot?

So, just to recap.

I think GGG v Ketchel would be fun to watch and you just want to type a load of nonsense to get noticed.

Well done

I asked a set of rather simple questions about Ketchel that you are unable answer.

People often mention the names of people or refer to specific terminology in order to pretend that they're knowledgeable.

I wanted to ascertain whether or not you were that kind of guy.

To be honest, I can't answer any of the questions I've posed and I would have been delighted if you were able to answer them.

So why even ask them? Why ask a bunch of questions that you know the answer to or really care about the answer?

If it helps your petty life then I've been a boxing fan since the mid 70's & love old school fighters. I've seen Johnson v Ketchel & also went to Galveston to the area where Johnson was born (there was no statue but there's a street named after him in the ghetto).

I think Johnson is the greatest Heavyweight of all time. I think Jimmy Wilde is the greatest British fighter of all time. I love Ted Kid Lewis & Jack Kid Berg. I'm really interested in Stanley Ketchel. Even named one cat Stanley & another Ketchel. I've read a few books about him. There used to be a lot more decent boxing writers about pre internet days. You could learn a lot back then.

And after all that, I still think you're a sad petty man, if that helps