The most important fight in boxing this coming weekend seems to be an obvious contest as WBA Middleweight champion-the rising star Gennady Golovkin (26-0, 23) takes on former 2-time title challenger Matthew Macklin (29-4, 20). The bout, on HBO, is not only a major title bout but will also help define the very exciting Middleweight division, a division going through a lot of changes.
The hard hitting and thoroughly fun to watch Golovkin has been a hidden favourite of hardcore boxing since pretty much fighting as an amateur though it wasn't until much more recently that he's managed to really make an impact with the casuals. The impact he's made has coincided with a deal with American broadcaster HBO who have shown 2 of his last 3 bouts and helped give him the exposure he's deserved.
Golovkin combines explosive-"KTFO" power with skills, a deep understanding of the ring and very good basics. He's not the quickest or the most defensively but he's tough and more than capable of taking a shot or two as he cuts off the ring and tries to smash you in half with his venomous shots to both head and body. It's his power that has helped him become one of the sports most talked about fighters but the ability to deliver it is second to none in the sport right now.
With a long amateur background it's fair to say that Golovkin is technically well schooled. So far he's not had to show his technical boxing too much, but it's certainly there, just for our enjoyment we should feel relieved that he likes to seek and destroy rather than box and moved. When he does box however his jab is a dominant factor and has the power of a a top fights straight.
In the challenger Matthew Macklin we have a very credibly and versatile fighter who can either brawl at a relentless pace, as he did against Felix Sturm in a bout that he was controversially defeated in in or can box at a very credible standard as he did in a losing effort with Sergio Gabriel Martinez. He has hurtful power that kept Sturm in his shell, dropped Martinez and stopped both Joachim Alcine and Amin Asikainen inside a round.
Macklin, at his most exciting is a power and hard hitting brawler. Sometimes he's made to pay for this, as he was against Jamie Moore, but it's certainly something he can do to keep fans interested win-lose-or draw.
Problem for Macklin here is that's "only" a credible fighter in whatever he does. He hits hard-but doesn't have monster power, he boxes well but not amazingly he can brawl at a high level but not the truly elite level. And whilst sometimes being very good is good enough against Golovkin it probably isn't quite good enough and whatever style Macklin decides to bring to the fight likely be issue to Golovkin who will adapt if and when needed whilst breaking down Macklin.
I expect Macklin to try and box early on but figure that Golovkin can do the same. After a few rounds of getting tagged with jabs and counters I expect he'll throw caution to the win and make a fight of things. If he does this he'll speed up his demise but certainly put one something memorable for the fans.
Prediction-Golovkin TKO6
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