Storyline: GGG and Lara have opposite styles and supreme skills. They’re both in their primes, too. Let’s do this fight and have some great boxing! Written by Anthony De Vita, Conyers, GA.
Courtesy: thesportsfanjournal.com
No one wants to fight him. That’s what everyone says about Gennady GGG Golovkin … and with good reason. The guy has ridiculous power with both hands, solid skills, and a ruthless, pressing style, which makes any ring seem small to an opponent. He cuts off the ring, then crowds his foes, like no one else in the sport right now. They have nowhere to run and, on top of it all, he has a beautiful jab and underrated defense.
Observers sometimes question his ability to avoid punches, but what they fail to notice is how often he attacks. The number of times he is hit, compared to the number of times he’s throwing punches, is minuscule.
Anybody who has stepped into a boxing ring knows that it takes risks to do damage. And that’s what GGG always has in mind. The fact that he has gotten hit so little is quite impressive.
All that being said, there’s at least one guy who wants to fight GGG, a guy who can be taken seriously. No, it’s not Tim Bradley or Andre Ward. Both of these boxers fight at different weights and there’s no sense for GGG to beat up a smaller man or taking the unnecessary risks in fighting a bigger one.
No, I am talking about Erislandy Lara, a skilled Cuban fighter with tremendous speed in both fists and feet. He’s a southpaw who seldom gets hit with a clean punch.
Courtesy: ringnews24.com
The two losses on Lara’s record are not worth mentioning because one was controversial (v. Canelo Alvarez) and the other was a flat out robbery (v. Paul Williams).
So, as far as I’m concerned, this would be a match-up of undefeated fighters: a boxer par excellence v. a relentless pressure-fighter. Lara would test GGG in ways nobody else has … and vice versa. GGG would be forced to deal with athleticism of hand and foot. Lara, on the other hand, would have to throw more punches than he ever has–and they couldn’t be just jabs. Lara has shown flashes of power in the past, and he would have to show more of that to break GGG’s offensive momentum.
Something would have to give. And, until it did, we would be in for a spectacular treat.
Unlike Canelo Alvarez, who demands to be allowed to fight for middleweight titles at a special catch-weight, Lara is willing to fight for the middleweight title as a middleweight. Gasp! As shocking as it may seem, that’s actually true. He believes in his skills enough to challenge GGG at his own weight.
That’s the kind of attitude all fighters should have. But the business of boxing sometimes gets in the way. GGG would be a favorite against both Alvarez and Lara, but it’s this writer’s opinion that the bookies would have closer odds with Lara than with Alvarez.
Unfortunately, it’s just for that reason that GGG’s handlers will avoid Lara until they can no longer steer clear of him. Lara would have to beat a number of mediocre opponents before that happened, and there’s a good chance he’d get old in the process. Once age starts creeping up it’s hard to stick and move as much as Lara does.
This fight would be better the sooner it happened. Both guys are in their prime and they both have opposite styles and supreme skills.
Let’s get past the shady business and, for once, and just have great boxing.
