Why Does Gennady Golovkin Fear Greatness?

Because I believe he has it in him. Unfortunately you don't believe he does. That GGG can go up 8 lbs and beat the 2nd best boxer on the planet is an opinion I do not share. That 168 is GGG's best division is absolutely absurd.

But...but...but Cotto and Canelo is puzzy doe GGG fans in shame Abel Sanchez just put a clinic on GGG's reputation with a classic 1-2 When either Cotto or Canelo tell GGG that they'll fight him at 155-156 because they're the A-Side, hopefully the GGG groupies stay quiet

I don't get how a fighter can think he's an A side based from fighting nothing but non challengers and certain fans agree with him!

:lol1: Oh boy. The responses in this thread.

Arguments can be made for not going up and not going up, who should go up and who should go down, etc. But at the end of the day, I want to see GGG vs. Ward with both fighters being at their best because they are two of the best 5 fighters that this sport has to offer. I don't know why that is so blasphemous in today's world of boxing. Why does it need to take 3-4 years for the best to fight the best? And when these matchups are tossed around in conversation, why do people get so damn sensitive and defensive? I'm not getting sensitive, I want the fight to get made and for there not to be another Pac/May fiasco or Stevenson/Kovalev bs. You simply didn't do a good job covering all your bases as you put it when you mentioned Hagler. But that's besides the point, I want GGG v Ward too and it happens next year, pencil it in. I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with a cw of 164lb either but I bet you Ward will try and long out negotiations on that front and GGG will eventually cave as Cotto and Canelo, his two biggest meal tickets, just ignore him.

How on earth is GGG at his best at 168, a division in which he's never fought? Because I believe he has it in him. Unfortunately you don't believe he does.

It's pretty simple, the risk of him losing is quite high. Don't let us kid ourselves, we are adults and we have been around boxing now for years. We know how it works and it's all about him knowing moving up to 168 and fighting Ward is a guaranteed loss, moving up and fighting Froch or Chavez is NOT a risk that isn't worth taking.

I have no problem with GGG still doing work at MW, which he really needs to before we start calling him a proven fighter. Canelo, Lemieux, Cotto, Quillin, Andy Lee, ect. There's still a lot of work to be done there. However, I have a problem with them saying they can beat everybody from 154-168 and then refuse to fight Lara and Ward when they call your bluff, that's a bitch move and I put the blame more on Sanchez than GGG. Just say you want to rule 160, which in all honesty is the more prestigious division out of the three. Also, keep Ward's name out your mouth who you clearly have no intentions of fighting and stop posturing you really do.

Arguments can be made for not going up and not going up, who should go up and who should go down, etc. But at the end of the day, I want to see GGG vs. Ward with both fighters being at their best because they are two of the best 5 fighters that this sport has to offer. I don't know why that is so blasphemous in today's world of boxing. Why does it need to take 3-4 years for the best to fight the best? And when these matchups are tossed around in conversation, why do people get so damn sensitive and defensive? How on earth is GGG at his best at 168, a division in which he's never fought?

I've seen the fight twice and I've never understood when people say Duran almost won. I don't think he even came close, Hagler just outsized the smaller guy. Credit for Duran for taking the fight and at times forcing the action, he seemed as quick as he had in years at that stage, which is another nice surprise. But Hagler was still the boss for maybe 9 rounds. But, throughout boxing history, before the early 90s when Eubank and Benn legitimised the smw division, it was middleweight v lhw...why didn't Hagler do that? Considering your criteria for greatness is a guy moving up in weight. Leonard and Hearn moved up almost a stone in weight, Duran moved up 2 stones. Why couldn't Hagler go up a stone and face Spinks? I'm just throwing your question back at you lol I do partially agree, GGG should be facing Ward if guys at mw are turning him down but I see no problem with a 164lb cw...unless Ward no longer considers himself a smw and is too big for the division, he should move up to lhw and there. He can't have the best of both worlds. Ward can't float around at 172lb and then say he is still the leading 168 pounder on the planet and then not agree to meet the leading mw (in most people's eyes) at a very reasonable catchweight. Arguments can be made for not going up and not going up, who should go up and who should go down, etc. But at the end of the day, I want to see GGG vs. Ward with both fighters being at their best because they are two of the best 5 fighters that this sport has to offer. I don't know why that is so blasphemous in today's world of boxing. Why does it need to take 3-4 years for the best to fight the best? And when these matchups are tossed around in conversation, why do people get so damn sensitive and defensive?

Slightly off topic... Hagler almost lost to Duran. Give credit to Duran for trying to force the fight against a bigger man. I've seen the fight twice and I've never understood when people say Duran almost won. I don't think he even came close, Hagler just outsized the smaller guy. Credit for Duran for taking the fight and at times forcing the action, he seemed as quick as he had in years at that stage, which is another nice surprise. But Hagler was still the boss for maybe 9 rounds. I would never ask a MW to fight a LHW. That's why. If I was demanding GGG to fight Kovalev you would have a point. But, throughout boxing history, before the early 90s when Eubank and Benn legitimised the smw division, it was middleweight v lhw...why didn't Hagler do that? Considering your criteria for greatness is a guy moving up in weight. Leonard and Hearn moved up almost a stone in weight, Duran moved up 2 stones. Why couldn't Hagler go up a stone and face Spinks? I'm just throwing your question back at you lol I do partially agree, GGG should be facing Ward if guys at mw are turning him down but I see no problem with a 164lb cw...unless Ward no longer considers himself a smw and is too big for the division, he should move up to lhw and there. He can't have the best of both worlds. Ward can't float around at 172lb and then say he is still the leading 168 pounder on the planet and then not agree to meet the leading mw (in most people's eyes) at a very reasonable catchweight.

What his "fanboys" say is not a criteria for why he should commit certain career moves. Take away GGG's "I'm the most feared from 154-168" hyperbole comment, and nobody has a credible argument as to why he should rush a move to another weight class in a very risky fight, when he hasn't even won the real title at 160 yet. All one has is his quote about being the most feared. The thing with Ward is that he doesn't have to say things like "I'm the best or most feared from 160 to 175" and be called out on it. Even if he stays humble and doesn't say a word, there is still a credible argument for him to move the hell on up already, particularly if you're not gonna stay active and rack up consistent title defenses. You've won the Super Tournament, you have become the recognized champ, you have unified trinket belts -- calling him on his stagnation is a given. So you as a GGG fan don't think he's ready for Ward right now, and admit he's not willing to take on all comers? Have I got this right? That's not true: 1. He's shown interest in fighting Froch and Chavez Jr. at the full 168 lb weight limit 2. He came out a month ago criticizing Ward for not wanting the fight 3. His team has been the one's bringing up Ward's name in the media over the past several weeks These are all indications that he has shown interest in possibly moving up. If he has no interest in fighting Ward at 168 they should just say our priorities are at 160 right now and we are not interested in taking that risk with bigger money fights on the table. Spot on.

There is interest down the road a little but you gotta understand Golovkin is one fight away from fighting Canelo in a big PPV fight. If what they're saying happens, that the WBC puts it in writing GGG gets winner of Canelo/Cotto, that means Golovkin can take a unification fight in lemieux next while he waits, and fight the guy they think is going to win (Canelo) in around May. This would be for the belt Golovkin has been waiting for YEARS to fight for. After that, a Ward fight is still there. They have consistently said over and over and over that Golovkin's priority is unifying 160. They've made that perfectly clear. Not sure how you miss it. Nothing is perfectly clear when it comes to that camp. One week there is a press release about Froch, the next week there are 3 press releases about Ward ducked him, the next week they say he never said that, the next week, they talk about Cotto/Canelo, then Froch said GGG tried to drain him, then they come back and said he didn't, then one week Lara didn't respond then this week, they were never interested to begin with, one week its everybody from 154 to 168 then its only leaving 160 for PPV fights. They are all over the place.

What his "fanboys" say is not a criteria for why he should commit certain career moves. Take away GGG's "I'm the most feared from 154-168" hyperbole comment, and nobody has a credible argument as to why he should rush a move to another weight class in a very risky fight, when he hasn't even won the real title at 160 yet. All one has is his quote about being the most feared. The thing with Ward is that he doesn't have to say things like "I'm the best or most feared from 160 to 175" and be called out on it. Even if he stays humble and doesn't say a word, there is still a credible argument for him to move the hell on up already, particularly if you're not gonna stay active and rack up consistent title defenses. You've won the Super Tournament, you have become the recognized champ, you have unified trinket belts -- calling him on his stagnation is a given. That's not true: 1. He's shown interest in fighting Froch and Chavez Jr. at the full 168 lb weight limit 2. He came out a month ago criticizing Ward for not wanting the fight 3. His team has been the one's bringing up Ward's name in the media over the past several weeks These are all indications that he has shown interest in possibly moving up. If he has no interest in fighting Ward at 168 they should just say our priorities are at 160 right now and we are not interested in taking that risk with bigger money fights on the table.

Technically 164 is still withing the 154-168 weight group. Secondly, are you gonna keep hanging that quote around his neck forever? Is this hyperbolic comment the only reason we have this outrage? What if he never said it? Would he be fighting campaigning at 160 right now without any criticism? Read what I said again. Why the hell wouldn't I hold it against him when his fanboys and team keep spreading lies and misinformation, clucking about how he's "avoided" when he's clearly not?

Or so you think. Lets have a look at some logical inconsistencies if you will. Or things you may have overlooked. Ignoring the fact that P4P rankings and criteria are subjective, scoring one win does not put one at the Top of the P4P rankings. And if it does, that's because everyone else beneath hasn't achieved squat to deserve being ranked higher. How does beating Ward make him the biggest star in Boxing? Ward is a ballroom fighter. From a pure Star power standpoint, a guy like Canelo Alvarez will always be a bigger star for years to come, since he is not even in his mid 20's yet. He is not the Lineal Middleweight Champion. Unless you're calling for this fight in a future date where GGG already disposed of Cotto/Canelo and became the Lineal and Recognized Champion. Shouldn't you be comparing Andre Ward to these guys? And how would it have looked if Bernard Hopkins jumped up in weight before he became the Undisputed Middleweight Champion? That's essentially what you want GGG to do. No. We don't need Floyd to move up. It's Andre Ward's turn to move up if he wants to be compared to the likes of Floyd or Roy Jones Jr,. the two most recent famous examples of P4P weight climbers who used their skills to beat bigger men. WARD should be the focus. An Olympic Gold Medalist and P4P regarded as one of the most skilled. Yet he is still fighting in one weight class as if he were as limited as Carl Froch (The Cobra knows his limits therefore he never moved up to 175). So why doesn't Ward move up to 175 since it's easier to move up for smaller fighters? GGG and Kovalev have relatively the same amount of hype behind them and Kovalev at least has three belts that Ward could pick up, though just like with GGG, he wouldn't be beating the Lineal Champion (that is Stevenson). GGG moving up right now is the equivalent to Hopkins moving up before he defeated Tito Trinidad. And he wouldn't have a Middleweight legacy or a 160 signature win to speak of. Excellent finish to your thread. The Focus should be on Ward and what he does with his time in Boxing, not on GGG (a guy who hasn't even won a Real Championship yet at 160) simply because of one hyperbole comment about being the most feared fighter from 154-168. How long are fans gonna keep hanging that comment around his neck? Ward should fight Kovalev and I believe he will. But GGG vs. Ward is the best fight to be made in boxing right now so that's the one I want to see first. And it can be made right now as both fighters need an opponent to close the year.

Would you have asked Marvin Hagler this question also? I thought from a mere observational standpoint, that Ward was the P4P skilled fighter of the two. You know --- the kind of guy who is expected to weight climb though divisions and use his sweet science to oubox much bigger fighters who are also great. Why can't GGG just fight at 160, keep defending his belt until he finally collects that Lineal Title that has been escaping him? The focus should be on what Ward does with his greatness, not GGG. Maybe GGG is not the most feared from 154-168, which was just promotional hyperbole. And those of you who continue to hang on to these words in order to get him to move up, when the Lineal 168 champ cannot even bring himself to fight a tomato can at 175, but had to weight test at 172 to see if he can deal with the size and strength of a Light-heavyweight. I don't recall Team Hagler saying they were willing to fight everyone from 154-168 and then negotiating to fight other fighters at 168.

Slightly off topic... Hagler almost lost to Duran. Give credit to Duran for trying to force the fight against a bigger man. Duran got testicular fortitude ggg can only dream about

No you never....you said Hagler couldn't move up to 168lb because the division wasn't yet established or worthy, which is true. Fact is though, at that time, the leading middleweight would go on to fight the leading light heavyweight, it was tradition, as was the leading light heavyweight fighting heavyweights (Spinks, Foster et al). I asked you before, why is Hagler not fighting Spinks not held against him? Hagler is regularly counted as a top 20 or even 15 ATG. His best wins in the entirety of the 1980s are Hearn and Duran, two smaller guys, in Duran's case, much smaller. Why do we not ask the question: Hagler didn't chase greatness? Leonard, Hearn and Duran certainly did. I'm asking not because I think Hagler isn't great, I most certainly do but because we can't use wishy washy criteria like this. I would never ask a MW to fight a LHW. That's why. If I was demanding GGG to fight Kovalev you would have a point.

I addressed Hagler in my opening post. I anticipated every counter argument beforehand. No you never....you said Hagler couldn't move up to 168lb because the division wasn't yet established or worthy, which is true. Fact is though, at that time, the leading middleweight would go on to fight the leading light heavyweight, it was tradition, as was the leading light heavyweight fighting heavyweights (Spinks, Foster et al). I asked you before, why is Hagler not fighting Spinks not held against him? Hagler is regularly counted as a top 20 or even 15 ATG. His best wins in the entirety of the 1980s are Hearn and Duran, two smaller guys, in Duran's case, much smaller. Why do we not ask the question: Hagler didn't chase greatness? Leonard, Hearn and Duran certainly did. I'm asking not because I think Hagler isn't great, I most certainly do but because we can't use wishy washy criteria like this.