Every generation or so, someone comes along and walks the fight landscape at just the right time. When one candle starts to flicker, a new one is lit. Around the time when Manny Pacquiao was bludgeoning Marco Antonio Barrera to announce his arrival to boxing's biggest stage, Gennady Golovkin was pulverizing his way through the amateur ranks.
He amassed an incredible record of 350-5, winning World Championships and Olympic Medals while beating the likes of Andy Lee, Andre Dirrell, and destroying future Super Middleweight Champion Lucian Bute along the way.
Though he hails from the former Soviet Union, the russian product brings the same hammer and sickle to the ring that used to adorn that crimson flag.
He is referred to as "GGG", and although I don't know what that means, it might as well stand for "TNT" because all he does is bomb opponents from start to finish. The scariest thing to emerge from Russia since Ivan Drago was terrorizing Apollo Creed, he has never been knocked down as an amateur or a pro.
He is the best middleweight fighter in the world.
Reports of Golovkin's prowess began to surface in fight circles a few years ago, with stories of gym wars with the likes of Alfredo Angulo, Antonio Margarito, and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Soon thereafter, HBO came calling with offers.
After flirting with Freddie Roach (who's as cold as a summer beer right now), his new promotional team K2 Promotions paired him with veteran trainer Abel Sanchez, who once guided former world champion Terry Norris. Noticing he was an obvious disciple of Soviet-style amateur discipline, Sanchez added the dimension of Mexican-style aggression to his approach. The result has produced a fearsome hybrid, for he now resembles a combination of a prime Kostya Tszyu and the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez.
In his american debut this past September in New York, he stopped the tough Grzegorz Proksa in 5 brutal rounds. He did it again last week at Madison Square Garden, co-featured alongside rising star Mikey Garcia (who mopped the floor with Orlando Salido). In a flu-ridden methodical performance, he beat Gabriel Rosado into submission with white towels flying everywhere in the 7th round.
Seated at ringside as a guest commentator was none other than Andre Ward, the world's best fighter and a possible future superfight opponent. Speaking of the potential match-up, Ward was succinct. "I've been in grind mode.", Ward said, adding "Let him build up his resume, get a body of work first, then we can talk."
If his fists keep doing just that, then the two of them will be on an inevitable collision course. It is very conceivable that in the not-so-distant future he could face, and beat- the likes of Sergio Martinez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and the aforementioned Alvarez.
At only 30 (and peaking), the possibilities for him and fight fans alike- are endless.
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