by David P. Greisman

Matthew Macklin says that Gennady Golovkin has looked impressive in knocking out nearly everyone who’s come before him — but he says that those who have faced Golovkin had neither the size nor the power they needed.

“The guys he’s been walking through are 154-pounders. I’m a strong, big-punching 160-pounder,” Macklin said on a June 19 media conference call in advance of the bout, which is taking place on June 29 at MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.

“That changes things,” Macklin said. “He’s going to have to be more preoccupied with defense in this fight.”

While Golovkin holds a middleweight world title and Macklin has fallen short in his two title challenges, Macklin argued that he’s “certainly the more proven entity.”

Macklin, 31, is 29-4 with 20 knockouts and is coming off a first-round knockout of Joachim Alcine in September 2012. But before that came his March 2012 loss to champion Sergio Martinez (an 11th-round stoppage) and a controversial split decision defeat against then-beltholder Felix Sturm in June 2011.

“I’ve had the tougher opposition,” Macklin said at one point.

“If it wasn’t for his amateur pedigree, I wouldn’t buy into his hype at all,” Macklin said at another point. “He hasn’t beaten anyone of note.”

But Macklin recalls Golovkin’s amateur career, dating back to when they both fought at the world junior championships in 2000 in Budapest, Hungary. Macklin said he was at welterweight there while Golovkin was a junior welterweight. And he’s paid attention to what Golovkin has done as a pro.

Golovkin, 31, is undefeated at 26-0, with all but three of those wins coming by knockout. His last three bouts saw him stop Grzegorz Proksa in September 2012, batter Gabriel Rosado en route to a technical knockout win this past January, and score a one-punch knockout of Nobuhiro Ishida in March.

“He’s accurate. He’s heavy handed. So am I,” Macklin said, noting that Golovkin is in with a guy who will hit him back. “It’s going to be an exciting fight.”

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com