Who is the better and more skilled boxer? Golovkin or KOvalev?

[Madison Boxing]

This may be a fairly new concept to you, being a hardcore Golovkin fan, but it turns out that when you are an elite fighter and you take a fight against an elite fighter ranked around your level and the odds are 50/50ish and you go in there and do very well.... some people are gonna think more highly of you afterwards.

I know I came out of that fight with more respect and reverence for both fighters.

whichever way people shape it, it was a fight between the best two middlweights and the other one was a fight between the best two light heavyweights. Always found it odd that ward v kovalev was considered so much better than every other fight... they are no better than the fighters in the other weight classes. You were all saying kovalev was stiff and limited after chilemba 'exposed' him, so it was him versus someone who had been pretty much inactive/fighting bums for 5 years and was coming up from 168... i think the skill level of that fight gets seriously overrated.

[j0zef]

To be fair, this was before they saw Kovalev come just shy against Ward in a debated fight as well as before GGG took more punches than they are used to seeing him take against Brook and Jacobs.

There was a point in time I would've picked GGG over Kovalev (EDIT: Not in a head to head matchup).

That's my point exactly. Their skill levels have not changed in the last 9 months, but because of how the fighters are perceived in the posters' heads the situation is magically reversed now.

Nothing has changed. Golovkin goes the distance and is suddenly a less skilled boxer even though Danny Jacobs landed the same % of punches as Curtis Stevens did, while Golovkin connects on his typical high 30s (38%). At the same time, Kovalev connects on 26%, is also unable to put away his opponent and is suddenly this superb boxer.

It's laughable. The skill level has not changed. Either you know what you're looking at or you don't.

[iamboxing]

Ward schooled Kovalev and made him cry for weeks. I say Golovkin because he boxes like a beast and made Canelo do a Bowe, exposing the myth that Mexicans are warriors and proving East = Might.

[BrometheusBob.]

That's my point exactly. Their skill levels have not changed in the last 9 months, but because of how the fighters are perceived in the posters' heads the situation is magically reversed now.

Nothing has changed. Golovkin goes the distance and is suddenly a less skilled boxer even though Danny Jacobs landed the same % of punches as Curtis Stevens did, while Golovkin connects on his typical high 30s (38%). At the same time, Kovalev connects on 26%, is also unable to put away his opponent and is suddenly this superb boxer.

It's laughable. The skill level has not changed. Either you know what you're looking at or you don't.

Fair enough I suppose.

I personally believe that getting a thin decision over Jacobs doesn't mean that GGG is a bum, but it's something I put some weight onto when I haven't seen GGG fight this level of competition many times before.

I feel more confident about rating a fighter higher when I see a fighter regularly do well against top competition, even if they haven't necessarily developed new skills / gotten better in doing so. (I know we disagree on what constitutes top competition.) I've liked what I've seen in plenty of fighters who turn out not to look so hot when moved up the ladder, and that in turn has sort of colored my perception of what I see from the fighters in the ring when against less than elite opponents.

[Chuckguy]

I say kovo. 60-40

[Chuckguy]

Ward schooled Kovalev and made him cry for weeks. I say Golovkin because he boxes like a beast and made Canelo do a Bowe, exposing the myth that Mexicans are warriors and proving East = Might.

How can a close fight winner by maybe 2 rounds be a schooling? Ward didn't land hard shots he got dropped but he schooled him? Really?

[satiev1]

Kovalev does not have a better jab. He dosen't have inside game at all. Ggg has short hooks and punches on the inside. Kovalev dosen't. GGG UD'd jacobs and he's exposed. Kovalev drew with boone and struggled with chilemba. GGG is better than kovalev. If ward was ggg's weight he loses.

[satiev1]

Kov has a better resume by a long shot.

I thought Kov won and GGG lost their recent fights.

Either way you have it, Ward was a way better opponent than Jacobs. I dont see Kov struggling with a jacobs level opponent.

He would for sure struggle against a danny jacobs opponent. He struggled with chilemba who's 2 levels below danny.

[satiev1]

GGG doesn't faint enough, something Kovalev does great. GGG doesn't use lateral movement, he cuts the ring off great but throws punches from pretty much right in front of you 100% of the time. GGG doesn't counter great, he tends to put the gloves up and deflect the punches before firing back, his offense comes to a stop when the other guy throws way too often. Technically he's pretty damn great but he does have flaws. His chin is ATG level though, he can eat some bombs and walk through, I've never seen the guy hurt a little bit. That 2 piece Jacobs hit him with was vicious and he just shrugged and walked after him like the terminator. They're both really great fighters, if they were the same size it would be tough to pick one or the other.

And if they were the same size I would pick Ward over GGG because he'd just beat him up inside. GGG needs space to land the jab and right hand.

Kovalev needs much more space than ggg. ggg has short hooks, over the top punches, and body shots on the inside, and a great upper cut. Kovalev dosen't have any of that. He always needs space.

[satiev1]

GGG is better in all departments!
His jab is excellent as demonstrated against Danny!
Koval did not use his jab to combinate from or set up Ward
for other punches.
The amateur background has a lot to do with the differences between them. Both like to pressure however GGG can box and does have upper body moves shown against Danny by using shoulder rolls and slipping.
He just has more experience than Koval and he's has better over all skills.

Koval better get in the ring and stop waiting on Ward or by the time that fight comes he won't be sharp or in top condition. Gym time is fine but Koval needs to fight, Ward can get away with less time because he can adapt Koval can't.

Ray

This. Spot on. People forget to mention kovalev drew with boone and struggled with chilemba. Chilemba is 2 levels below danny.