Considered the Mecca of boxing, the Madison Square Garden will once again stage one of the biggest championship fights in the sport. Making waves across the country since his arrival in the American scene, Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin will put his two world titles on the line against former two-time champion Daniel “The Real Deal” Geale in what will be his biggest fight to date.
July is a grand-spanking month when it comes to fisticuffs. Two weeks before the enormous match at the MSG, Canelo Alvarez will square off against Erislandy Lara (you can read the preview for this match here) at Las Vegas. In the meantime, read on to know more about this explosive encounter as the smooth technician Geale meets the bricks-for-fists Golovkin.
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Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin vs. Daniel Geale, WBA & IBO Middleweight Championship Match, Betting Preview and Prediction
Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin (29-0, 26 KO) is the current WBO and IBO Middleweight World Champion. He owns the highest knockout ratio in middleweight championship history finishing his fights 89.66% of the time, and is currently riding a 15-fight knockout streak dating back to January 2009.
[sc:Other240banner ]Golovkin is an aggressive fighter who works behind an excellent jab. He has incredible balance and fluidity that lets him command the center of the ring and stay on the attack. Knowing how to gauge the distance well, he strikes at the right opportunity, conserving his energy. Golovkin’s power is enough to put anyone to sleep with one punch, but he doesn’t sacrifice his technical skills in favor of resembling a wild bar-brawler.
Triple G mixes in crisp, technical hooks that are packed with power which he utilizes while pinning his opponents to the ropes. Aside from bashing in his opponents’ skulls, he also punishes their bodies whenever he can. The most prominent victim of his body attack was Matthew Macklin who coming into the fight was supposedly Golovkin’s biggest challenge. The champion sent Macklin to the floor crying in agony after a left hook to the liver in the third round of their contest.
However, the champion’s technicality doesn’t mean that he won’t load up on some looping overhand punches. He does, but only after creating the most opportune moment to do so.
Defensively, Golovkin doesn’t get hit with clean shots too often. Due to his great head movement, he has only been hit 19.57% of all the strikes attempted by his last seven opponents. If he can’t avoid the punches coming his way, he rolls with the punches to lessen the sting of impact.
Although a devastating knockout artist, Golovkin isn’t just a hard-hitting brawler, winging haymaker after haymaker. The champion had an excellent amateur background well before turning into a legal adult going 345-5. He has a gold medal from the 2003 World Championships and bagged the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics to cap off his amazing amateur career.
Golovkin also won against Daniel Geale in the 2001 East Asian Games making this a rematch on the professional level. He dominated the Australian 15-3 in the finals.
Daniel “The Real Deal” Geale (32-2, 16 KO) is the No.2 middleweight boxer in the world as ranked by the Ring Magazine. Like the champion, Geale also has an amateur background, but doesn’t own a stellar record, going 135-30 in 165 contests.
The Real Deal’s only claim to fame in amateur boxing was winning the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The competition, in general, pales in comparison to the World Championships and Olympics. That said, one of the competing bodies, the United Kingdom, has produced some of the greatest boxers in the world (Ricky Hatton, Lennox Lewis and David Haye ring a bell?).
Where Beale has shone is as a professional, where he has compiled a 32-2 record with 16 knockouts. Still, The Real Deal will need to put on a performance of a lifetime if he hopes to win against Golovkin.
Geale prefers to be on his toes while flicking out potshots that don’t do much damage. He is a smooth boxer and doesn’t make many mistakes, but has a tendency to sacrifice power for speed. The challenger prefers to hang back and wait for openings instead of continuously pressuring his opponents. Although a good counter-striker, this type of approach will definitely hurt his chances against Golovkin.
The style is effective as it doesn’t leave him susceptible to gassing out, but it has also led to fewer knockouts as he faced better competition. As an example, Geale took Osumanu Adama to decision. In contrast, Golovkin knocked out the same opponent inside seven rounds. The Real Deal also barely scraped by some of the best opponents he’s faced winning split decisions against Sebastian Sylvester (34-5-1) and Felix Sturm (39-4-2, 1 NC).
If Geale hasn’t had any dramatic changes to his game coming into this fight, he may be headed to relive his 2001 amateur loss to the champion.
Writer’s Prediction
Gennady Golovkin is the better boxer, but not by much. However, he has dynamite in his hands which will be enough to put Daniel Geale to sleep inside nine rounds.
