GGG: an all time middleweight great?

[Jacopodb]

This thread is fvcking weird

Can one of the MODS just close it....

Read my post above: now that's back on topic.

P. S.: sorry for the digressions.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Props to 36-years-old GGG for fighting a peaking Canelo (if they fought in 2102, when GGG was still facing the likes of the big-in-Japan Makoto Fuchigami, and Canelo was already dealing with WBC top-notch superwelterweight contenders, probably GGG, mainly due to his still-shallow professional experience, would've taken a solid beating, even at middleweight, from prime Canelo): GGG is much like Mayweather Jr.: not eager to be slaughtered for a payday: then why Floyd is so much dissed when GGG is nut-hugged? Here's something else to talk about.
GGG is naturally heavier than Canelo, which is naturally heavier than Floyd Jr.: end of discussion.

Yeh, there was a reason Canelo didn't want to even fight GGG even in 2015/16..

[apollo creed]

Props to 36-years-old GGG for fighting a peaking Canelo (if they fought in 2102, when GGG was still facing the likes of the big-in-Japan Makoto Fuchigami, and Canelo was already dealing with WBC top-notch superwelterweight contenders, probably GGG, mainly due to his still-shallow professional experience, would've taken a solid beating, even at middleweight, from prime Canelo): GGG is much like Mayweather Jr.: not eager to be slaughtered for a payday: then why Floyd is so much dissed when GGG is nut-hugged? Here's something else to talk about.
GGG is naturally heavier than Canelo, which is naturally heavier than Floyd Jr.: end of discussion.

Yeh, there was a reason Canelo didn't want to even fight GGG even in 2015/16..

Even so Canelo wasn't even able to beat a 35y/o GGG in 2017/18.

[ewenhay]

This thread is fvcking weird

Can one of the MODS just close it....

Every Golovkin thread eventually resembles a car crash

[jamamb]

ya because his huggers and haters are equally passionate

[Jacopodb]

Props to 36-years-old GGG for fighting a peaking Canelo (if they fought in 2102, when GGG was still facing the likes of the big-in-Japan Makoto Fuchigami, and Canelo was already dealing with WBC top-notch superwelterweight contenders, probably GGG, mainly due to his still-shallow professional experience, would've taken a solid beating, even at middleweight, from prime Canelo): GGG is much like Mayweather Jr.: not eager to be slaughtered for a payday: then why Floyd is so much dissed when GGG is nut-hugged? Here's something else to talk about.
GGG is naturally heavier than Canelo, which is naturally heavier than Floyd Jr.: end of discussion.

Yeh, there was a reason Canelo didn't want to even fight GGG even in 2015/16..

I don't care what a British former-WBO wold champion (defeated by Canelo... Oops!) might have stated about Canelo... Wether Alvarez wasn't yet ready to go middleweight, or his entourage didn't want him to face such a dangerous and bigger opponent as GGG, is not my problem: GGG, by 2012, had never faced no one like Canelo, and, if forced to, both 23-years-old Canelo, and the Mayweather who beat Cotto, could have handled professionally-unripe GGG, as far as I'm concerned.

Now there's always a margin of error, and that thin red line separating dangerous contenders from all-time-greats is becoming thinner and thinner as times goes by, so, if you can provide unquestionable evidence that Canelo "ducked" GGG, I'll gladly consider it. No trash talking, of course.

Even if proved that Canelo has "ducked" GGG (I don't believe that the term "ducking" could be used to describe such a situation anyway), GGG unloaded his frustrations on even-lighter-than-Canelo Kell Brook... Now try to tell me if fighting GGG like that was a responsible choice for Brook... So, no evidence could question Canelo and his entourage's common sense anyway.

Here are a few facts (until proven wrong) about Canelo's resume: if you look past the religious statements, the rest might be interesting.

[Jacopodb]

Props to 36-years-old GGG for fighting a peaking Canelo (if they fought in 2102, when GGG was still facing the likes of the big-in-Japan Makoto Fuchigami, and Canelo was already dealing with WBC top-notch superwelterweight contenders, probably GGG, mainly due to his still-shallow professional experience, would've taken a solid beating, even at middleweight, from prime Canelo): GGG is much like Mayweather Jr.: not eager to be slaughtered for a payday: then why Floyd is so much dissed when GGG is nut-hugged? Here's something else to talk about.
GGG is naturally heavier than Canelo, which is naturally heavier than Floyd Jr.: end of discussion.

Yeh, there was a reason Canelo didn't want to even fight GGG even in 2015/16..

Even so Canelo wasn't even able to beat a 35y/o GGG in 2017/18.

That's the problem with great amateurs: they have awesome fundamentals, but low professional-level ring smarts and stuff.
Canelo went pro at 15, Golovkin 9 years older... He had to adapt to fight the pros, and went for it, but GGG couldn't deal with WBC contenders until the Rubio fight (so, who ducked who, between GGG and Rubio?): Canelo was ahead on prefigures, and felt he could meet him already in 2016, but De La Hoya & co. might have intervened, it's their business.
Canelo proved himself to be a better boxer, not only p4p, but at middleweight, than GGG, no matter how controversial were his fights against GGG.

A peaking Rubio could've handled GGG better than the washed-up version of him, so what?

[oogiebe]

This thread is fvcking weird

Can one of the MODS just close it....

Seriously it's been hijacked.

[apollo creed]

Fergus/EO/Jacopornd is on damage control with his veneer of bullshit.

[apollo creed]

Yeh, there was a reason Canelo didn't want to even fight GGG even in 2015/16..

Even so Canelo wasn't even able to beat a 35y/o GGG in 2017/18.

That's the problem with great amateurs: they have awesome fundamentals, but low professional-level ring smarts and stuff.
Canelo went pro at 15, Golovkin 9 years older... He had to adapt to fight the pros, and went for it, but GGG couldn't deal with WBC contenders until the Rubio fight (so, who ducked who, between GGG and Rubio?): Canelo was ahead on prefigures, and felt he could meet him already in 2016, but De La Hoya & co. might have intervened, it's their business.
Canelo proved himself to be a better boxer, not only p4p, but at middleweight, than GGG, no matter how controversial were his fights against GGG.

A peaking Rubio could've handled GGG better than the washed-up version of him, so what?

What a veneer of bullshit!

[ewenhay]

My eyes told me there was very little between Golovkin and Alvarez after 24 rounds together.

Pretty evenly matched really. Wouldn't say one was significantly better than the other.

[oogiebe]

My eyes told me there was very little between Golovkin and Alvarez after 24 rounds together.

Pretty evenly matched really. Wouldn't say one was significantly better than the other.

A sound post with a sprinkle of sanity. Now, let's stop this thread please!

[Jacopodb]

Even so Canelo wasn't even able to beat a 35y/o GGG in 2017/18.

That's the problem with great amateurs: they have awesome fundamentals, but low professional-level ring smarts and stuff.
Canelo went pro at 15, Golovkin 9 years older... He had to adapt to fight the pros, and went for it, but GGG couldn't deal with WBC contenders until the Rubio fight (so, who ducked who, between GGG and Rubio?): Canelo was ahead on prefigures, and felt he could meet him already in 2016, but De La Hoya & co. might have intervened, it's their business.
Canelo proved himself to be a better boxer, not only p4p, but at middleweight, than GGG, no matter how controversial were his fights against GGG.

A peaking Rubio could've handled GGG better than the washed-up version of him, so what?

What a veneer of bullshit!

You're wearing me out: you're like landing like one line at a time, I have to throw a dozen... You understand this is not fair competition. Someone stop this slaughter and close the thread, please.

[Thomastearns]

One of the best amateur records of all time, one of the longest knockout streaks of all time, one of the most avoided MWs of all time, and still not all time great?

Add two robberies by the Las Vegas cartel both in favour of a tested drugs cheat, all the while fighting against the boxing establishment from the outside.

GGG was so good for so long he didn't even give them the chance to rob him until he got to Vegas. By keeping judges out of the equation he even surpassed Marvin who fell foul to a disputed decision very early on in his career and took years to rebuild - the hard way.

Remember Monzon was merely seen as very good in his day. If he's an ATG now then GGG certainly is. Basically, there's only Hagler to compare within living memory.

[jamamb]

i can see him making the hall of fame but record too sparse of quality to be a genuine atg

[Jacopodb]

I admit that some holders of GGG as an all-timer have good arguments, but you can't compare Hagler's or Monzon's resume to the one of GGG: if anyone didn't consider Monzon a great boxer by the time Monzon was the same age of today's GGG, I wouldn't care: If I was alive in Monzon's latest years of career, I would've most surely considered him as an all-timer nevertheless, as I can recall considering Mayweather an all-timer at least by the time he had beaten Mosley.

[apollo creed]

One of the best amateur records of all time, one of the longest knockout streaks of all time, one of the most avoided MWs of all time, and still not all time great?

Add two robberies by the Las Vegas cartel both in favour of a tested drugs cheat, all the while fighting against the boxing establishment from the outside.

GGG was so good for so long he didn't even give them the chance to rob him until he got to Vegas. By keeping judges out of the equation he even surpassed Marvin who fell foul to a disputed decision very early on in his career and took years to rebuild - the hard way.

Remember Monzon was merely seen as very good in his day. If he's an ATG now then GGG certainly is. Basically, there's only Hagler to compare within living memory.

spot on

People forget that GGG had a very hard time to get the big fights. At that time Sturm, Quillin, JCCjr, Martinez and Cotto were seeing GGG as the real boogeyman of the mw division. At least Sturm and Cotto should've been on GGG's resume.

[oogiebe]

I admit that some holders of GGG as an all-timer have good arguments, but you can't compare Hagler's or Monzon's resume to the one of GGG: if anyone didn't consider Monzon a great boxer by the time Monzon was the same age of today's GGG, I wouldn't care: If I was alive in Monzon's latest years of career, I would've most surely considered him as an all-timer nevertheless, as I can recall considering Mayweather an all-timer at least by the time he had beaten Mosley.

I watched Monzon during his heyday and he was levels above. My all-time favorite middleweight. Certainly top 5 GOAT.

[Jacopodb]

I admit that some holders of GGG as an all-timer have good arguments, but you can't compare Hagler's or Monzon's resume to the one of GGG: if anyone didn't consider Monzon a great boxer by the time Monzon was the same age of today's GGG, I wouldn't care: If I was alive in Monzon's latest years of career, I would've most surely considered him as an all-timer nevertheless, as I can recall considering Mayweather an all-timer at least by the time he had beaten Mosley.

I watched Monzon during his heyday and he was levels above. My all-time favorite middleweight. Certainly top 5 GOAT.

To me Monzon is the greatest middleweight ever, as far as I know.
Legends about him circulate among boxing gyms... The fact that he broke his knuckles hitting heavy bags, or the time he was faced by one of his sparring-partners who basically wanted to earn cheap fame by flooring him during sparring, so he tried to catch the champion by surprise... Monzon didn't see it coming but managed to withstand the attack, and then beat the holy crap out of that sparring partner... I am sure that much "worse" legends on Monzon's fashions and attitudes have crossed the whole world...
Sadly enough, what made Monzon so great -his fierce will to never back down-, is also what destroyed him: he was never eager to call himself out of trouble before something serious happened.

[oogiebe]

I admit that some holders of GGG as an all-timer have good arguments, but you can't compare Hagler's or Monzon's resume to the one of GGG: if anyone didn't consider Monzon a great boxer by the time Monzon was the same age of today's GGG, I wouldn't care: If I was alive in Monzon's latest years of career, I would've most surely considered him as an all-timer nevertheless, as I can recall considering Mayweather an all-timer at least by the time he had beaten Mosley.

I watched Monzon during his heyday and he was levels above. My all-time favorite middleweight. Certainly top 5 GOAT.

To me Monzon is the greatest middleweight ever, as far as I know.
Legends about him circulate among boxing gyms... The fact that he broke his knuckles hitting heavy bags, or the time he was faced by one of his sparring-partners who basically wanted to earn cheap fame by flooring him during sparring, so he tried to catch the champion by surprise... Monzon didn't see it coming but managed to withstand the attack, and then beat the holy crap out of that sparring partner... I am sure that much "worse" legends on Monzon's fashions and attitudes have crossed the whole world...
Sadly enough, what made Monzon so great -his fierce will to never back down-, is also what destroyed him: he was never eager to call himself out of trouble before something serious happened.

A tragic case of self destruction. I saw so many of his fights...I was fortunate.

[Ruthless-RKO]

i can see him making the hall of fame but record too sparse of quality to be a genuine atg

I think the next generation of fans will see him more of an ATG. Due to his KO streak as well and how he finished fights.

[Ruthless-RKO]

GGG was avoided and DID try to become WBA ‘Super’ champion.

Just digging really..

Oleg Hermann, Manager of WBA "regular" middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (20-0, 17KOs), is very upset with the "super champion" of the division, Felix Sturm. Golovkin has tried to secure a fight with Sturm for a long time. They saw a recent report where Sturm was interested in facing former champion Kelly Pavlik in the summer. Pavlik is already set to face Alfonso Lopez on the Pacquiao-Mosley pay-per-view on May 7 in Las Vegas.

"I know that he's trying to find a worthy opponent for June," said Hermann. "Of course, he will find another Lorenzo or Hearns to get some laughter. Sturm says he wants to fight against Kelly Pavlik. Excellent! He wants to fight with someone who didn't box for a year and was recently discharged from the clinic for alcoholics. Pavlik is a great boxer, but he needs time to get back in shape."

"Gennady, the mandatory challenger, has been trying for a year to fight him. We are ready, and our fans want this fight. Felix also knows that he needs scheduled this meeting in order to become a full champion. He wears a championship belt, which no longer belongs to him. If Sturm has a shred of pride, he should do it. Otherwise he will remain in history as the 'constantly avoiding fighter.'

Golovkin vs N’Jikam is Tentative For May/June in Monaco

According to Oleg Hermann, manager of sparkling Kazakh middleweight banger Gennady Golovkin (20-0, 17 KOs), his protégé will fight Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (25-0, 17 KOs) of France in his next outing. A thrilling clash between two undefeated prospects will also be a partial unification of the WBA title: N’Jikam, 27, is the WBA interim champion, and the former amateur superstar Golovkin, 28, holds the “regular” title. Quotes are necessary as the World Boxing Association not-so-surprisingly has three beltholders in this particular weight class. The “super” title belongs to German stalwart Felix Strum (35-2-1, 15 KOs), 32.

Hermann gave a short interview to Kazakh media portal Sports.kz to share his feelings regarding the current situation.

About litigation with Universum Box-Promotion on promotional rights, “We asked the Hamburg district court to postpone the hearing (which was scheduled to take place on March 23) for two weeks. We need some extra time to make our arguments more convincing. A judge, who was involved in the landcourt during the first instance, wasn’t competent enough to rule the dispute in favour of Gennady. And we were unable to explain all the details to the judge. This time it will be different. It’s not only our side who are preparing for the new hearings. Judges make more thorough preparations as well. I think our chances are high. We should get a satisfying ruling”.

About Golovkin’s next fight, “We already know our future opponent. It will be WBA interim champion Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam from France. This fight will take place either in late May or in early June. A tentative place for this contest is Monaco. Right now we are discussing the details with N’Jikam’s handlers. Gennady has already landed in the States where he will start his preparations and, hopefully, will have a strong training camp”.

Editor's Note: Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam is also scheduled to fight Giovani Lorenzo on April 2.

Golovkin vs N'Dam May Finally Be Forced To Happen

The WBA may finally be forced to sort out their mess in the middeweight division, which has multiple champions. As previously reported on BS.com, the WBA's "super champion" at middleweight, Felix Sturm, is going to defend his title against dangerous Brit Matthew Macklin on either June 25 of July 2 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany with Sat 1 as television network.

With Sturm-Mackling in place, the WBA "regular" middleweight champ, Gennady Golovkin, could be forced to face the WBA's interim-middleweight king Hassan N´Dam of France, although there are still many ifs to be sorted out before this happen.

The winner of Sturm vs Macklin would then face the winner of Golovkin and N´Dam and the WBA's mess at 160 would finally be sorted out.

I think WBA are partially/mostly to blame for having soo many bloody titles.

Gennady Golovkin's Manager Rips Felix Sturm and N'Dam

Oleg Hermann, manager of WBA "regular" middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, is upset that his boxer is unable to secure fights with Felix Sturm, the WBA's "super champion" at middleweight, and the WBA's interim-champion Hassan N'Dam. Golovkin will face Kassim Ouma in early June, while Sturm fights British boxer Matthew Macklin on June 25. The WBA has ordered Golovkin and N'Dam to fight each other by the fall and Sturm has to face the winner.

"It is very hard to find a good opponent. Everybody knows that Felix Sturm is afraid of Gennady. Strictly speaking, Sturm should get out of boxing and become a marathon runner because he is running fast and long. He has an excellent chance to become a champion in athletics. Obviously, Hassan N'Dam has already gone into hiding. I hope they are running in circles because by the end of the summer they are going to re-appear in our path. The WBA has already ordered N'Dam to fight Gennady, and then it's going to be Sturm's turn," Hermann said.

Sturm: Pirog is The Toughest To Beat, Golovkin Overrated

WBA "super" middleweight champion Felix Sturm is days away from a scheduled defense against undefeated British boxer Martin Murray. The year is almost over and several challengers are ready to take Sturm on. Sturm sat down with Abendblatt and discussed a number of subjects - including the reasons for the failed negotiations to make a rematch with Matthew Macklin, whether he plans to face his mandatory Gennady Golovkin and more.e art.

On the rematch with Macklin: - It didn't take place because Macklin did not want to fight. At the end of the negotiations, we offered him 70% more than he received in the first fight. However, he only had excuses.

Possible opponents: - Without a doubt, the most dangerous is the Russian boxer, WBO champion Dmitry Pirog. He is the most difficult to beat because his style is very complex. Argentinean Sergio Martinez is also very strong, but [his style] is more convenient for me, and the same goes for the Australian - IBF champion Daniel Geale and the WBC champion Julio Cesar Chavez from Mexico.

Regarding mandatory challenger Gennady Golovkin - We'll see. Golovkin - is one of many potential competitors. I think he's immensely overrated by his advisers. I would have fought with him at any time.

^^^ He's called him overrated here.. He said he would have fought him at any time?

Pirog Believes Felix Sturm Will Struggle With Golovkin

WBO world middleweight champion Dmitry Pirog believes WBA champion Felix Sturm (36-2, 15KOs) will struggle when he finally meets hard hitter Gennady Golovkin (21-0, 18KOs). Sturm is the WBA's "super champion" at 160-pounds, while Golovkin is the "regular champion" at 160. The WBA ordered Sturm to defend the title against Golovkin, the current mandatory challenger, but the sanctioning body has not forced the issue to make this fight happen.

Based on Sturm's recent performances, a controversial split decision win over Matthew Macklin and a close twelve round draw with the far less experienced Martin Murray, Pirog feels the German boxer will have problems when he steps in the ring a heavy handed boxer like Golovkin.

"I think [Felix Sturm] has ceased to develop as a boxer. I've been able to form this opinion on the basis of his recent fights. If he is to meet Gennady Golovkin in the near future, I think that it's going to be difficult for him," Pirog said.

In a recent interview, Sturm praised Pirog and called him "the most difficult" fighter to beat at 160-pounds. Sturm feels Golovkin is "very overrated."

Golovkin’s Manager: N’Jikam Has Refused to Fight Gennady

Oleg Hermann, manager of WBA “regular” middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (22-0, 19 KOs), informed Allboxing.ru, that certain obstacles have been removed to prevent a fight between his boxer and the WBA's "super champion" at 160-pounds, Felix Sturm (36-2-2, 15 KOs). A fight was ordered between Golovkin and WBA interim-champ Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (26-0, 17 KOs), but on Wednesday night the French boxer vacated his title and walked away from the fight.

“WBA interim champion Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (26-0, 17 KOs) has relinquished his title and his chance to fight Gennady. A purse bid for this fight should have taken place on Thursday but hence N’Jikam had made a decision to withdraw for good. Given that, Gennady has no mandatory challenger ahead of him, he is absolutely free to hunt down Felix Sturm who is recognized as a super champion," said Hermann.

“Now we wait for the WBA to sanction the fight with Sturm. Gennady is the mandatory challenger to Felix. Maybe this fight will happen in April. The countdown for the collision is on."

Team Golovkin are going to receive a taste of bad news, as Sturm has reached an agreement to fight former WBC champion Sebastian Zbik on April 13 in Germany.

^^^ Is that a duck?

Drozd Surprised That Pirog Turned Down a Golovkin Bout

Russian cruiserweight Gregory Drozd is surprised that WBO middleweight champion Dmitry Pirog is not interested in fighting Gennady Golovkin, the WBA's "regular" champion at 160-pounds. Drozd, a rising cruiserweight, is good friends with both fighters. He knows Pirog well, due to their Russian roots, and he was stablemates with Golovkin when both boxers were promoted by Universum.

Pirog's handlers believe a fight with Golovkin is not the right move at the moment, because neither of them is well known in the United States, and the networks like HBO and Showtime are not interested in televising their bout.

"I know Dmitry very well. Of course, the situation that developed with him [not being able to secure big fights] is sad and strange. I would like it very much if he were to face the best boxers - like Felix Sturm or Sergio Martinez. However, he did not want to fight with Gennady Golovkin, whi I'm also on good terms with. We were stablemates under Universum. Gennady is a great guy, and so is Dmitry. So, in truth, I would not be very happy to see them beat each other up," Drozd said.

Pirog's team said no because they're both unknown in the US?

Golovkin-Pirog is "90% Done" as Geale Secures Sturm

Pirog Suffers Back Injury, Withdraws From Golovkin Bout

K2's Loeffler Ready To Make Geale-Golovkin Unification

A few days ago, the WBA ordered the winner of Sturm-Geale to face the winner of Golovkin-Proksa by early December.

HBO was very impressed by Golovkin's performance and the network wants to have him back as soon as possible. K2 is looking to secure a December date for Golovkin - in either Texas, Los Angeles or New York.

"The WBA issued that resolution on Thursday, that the winner of Golovkin-Proksa is the mandatory for Sturm and Geale. We're hoping now that Geale will defend the WBA title instead of vacating the title," Loeffler told BS.com.

For years, Sturm has avoided a fight with Golovkin. Loeffler has a lot more confidence in Geale stepping up to the plate.

"That's one obstacle out of the way as far as Sturm always being recognized as the super champion. That's one problem we had. Gennady couldn't unify the [WBA] title because Sturm was super champion, but we have more faith in Geale. He had a great performance in Germany, winning the title - and he actually had two great performances in Germany - the one against [Sebastian] Sylvester and then he came back and beat Sturm. We feel that Geale has a lot of heart and a lot of confidence in his abilities," Loeffler said.

Geale's American promoter, Gary Shaw, told BS on Saturday that he was open to making a Geale-Golovkin unification.

Gennady Golovkin Named Sole WBA Middleweight Champ

The World Boxing Association announced that Daniel Geale will be stripped of his “super champion” status and Gennady Golovkin is named as its sole WBA middleweight champion.

President Gilberto Mendoza made the declaration at the WBA’s 91st Annual Convention in Jakarta.

Geale won the WBA “Super Champion” title when he unified the WBA and IBF titles by winning a decision over existing WBA “Super Champion” Felix Sturm on September 1 in Oberhausen, Germany.

However, because of Sturm’s long overdue mandatory obligation to Golovkin, the WBA declared the winner of Sturm/Geale bout must face the winner of Golovkin/Grzegorz Proksa by December 31.

Golovkin defeated Proksa by stopping him in the fifth round in a very impressive performance. Geale has since declined to face Golovkin announcing he will fight Anthony Mundine in January 2013 in Australia.

“We commend the WBA for clearing up this long overdue situation and recognizing Gennady as their only champion in the middleweight division. Gennady is proud to be the WBA and IBO champion and looks forward to returning to the ring soon,” said Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions.

Geale had a great win over Sturm in Germany, however he soon joined many others in avoiding Golovkin. Geale turned down a potential lucrative fight against Golovkin on HBO to sign for the Mundine fight.

“We don’t blame Geale and his team for taking a safer fight. However, they knew the obligations they would have prior to the Sturm fight. Geale is still IBF champion and if he continues to win, this might be a great unification fight in the future.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm tired. All of the above is Golovkin and his team trying to become 'full' WBA champion and unifying with Pirog. Obviously the fight was set, but Pirog suffered a career-ending injury.

Main boxer mentioned was Sturm, who kept stalling. I think GGG wasted too much time, but then probably though a fight would be foreced.. Also Hassan N'Dam clearly avoided GGG..

[Jacopodb]

I remember that Sturm was famous for his safe career...
Fact is I don't despise boxers for "ducking" (what an ugly word, for a professional fighter) opponents: every sport is dangerous to some extent, and head trauma/concussions take their toll... So, nothing wrong with a fighter picking his own opponents carefully, if he doesn't have the makings to fight some: as I've stated earlier, there's nothing glorious or honourable in landing oneself to slaughter for the sake of a payday.
As long as a fighter stays out of danger, without running his mouth around claiming he's the best fig in the basket, obviously, it's all right to me.

[ewenhay]

To be fair to Golovkin I'd say he was ducked rather than ducker during the hot streak of his career and he definitely wanted to take on all comers in his pursuit to be undisputed.

I think the aura started to go around the Brook and Jacobs fights. Brook showed he could be hit and Jacobs showed he wasn't the monster some had thought or at least wasn't anymore.

[Enlightened-One]

Out of interest, what fighters did Tom Loeffler submit financial offers to them to face GGG? Is there any evidence to prove that Golovkin’s peers actually “ducked” him due to rejecting K2’s purses?