by David P. Greisman

Gary Shaw promotes Daniel Geale, who lost via third-round stoppage to Gennady Golovkin this past Saturday. Shaw’s been involved in the sport for more than four decades, and he thinks Golovkin ranks highly in the history of middleweights he’s witnessed.

“In all my years of boxing, I’ve been a long time, he’s the best 160-pounder I’ve ever seen,” Shaw said immediately after the bout. “I honestly felt Geale could take him 12 rounds. He has great movement. He engaged him. But Golovkin is just too good. He’s got all the tools. He’s got all the moves. He’s got all the power. And he’s got a style that nobody will beat him at 160. I’ve been in boxing since 1970. He’s the best 160-pounder I’ve seen.”

Shaw wouldn’t be the first person involved in boxing to be prone to hyperbole.

A handful of years ago, BoxingScene.com’s Cliff Rold compiled a list of the top 25 middleweights ever. Those on the list who’ve fought since 1970 are Roy Jones Jr. (who Rold ranked 25th), Bernard Hopkins (7th), Marvin Hagler (4th) and Carlos Monzon (3rd).

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com