San Francisco, CA- The headline is no tease, it’s reality based on boxing history. You remember the old adage, “a good big man beats a good little man.” With the exception of the few and far between, Henry Armstrong and Roberto Duran were two of the exceptions to this golden rule of boxing.
Are Canelo, GGG, Ward and Kovalev good enough to defy size and history? Let’s look at the 154 lb. champ Saul Alvarez who is 44-1-1, 31 KO’s and a youngster at 24. How would he match up with Gennady Golovkin, the people’s (and WBA) World middleweight (160) champion?
Ring Magazine recognizes Puerto Rican (39-4, 32 KOs) Miguel Cotto, who recently thrashed linear champ Sergio Martinez. Cotto-Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs) is a mismatch, one in which Cotto would be punished in a manner near criminal.
Back to the fight at hand, Saul vs. GGG looks like a rout as Alvarez would be dismayed by the power and speed of Golovkin displaying what some say a style that has a lot of Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez about it. (What do you think about that?) The brute force of GGG beating Canelo to the punch ends this one early for the Mexican mauler.
When it comes to Gennady Golovkin moving up in weight to face Andre Ward, it is ill advised. Back to, “a good big man beats a good little man,” GGG would have to get close to harm Ward. The size differential being what it is, I don’t know. Speed, size and being more polished, isn’t that enough for Ward to prevail?
2004 Olympic king Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) is an amazing athlete. Retired boxing historian Ronald Marshall can heard saying, “Andre Ward is a natural athlete. If he wanted to, (high school football star) Ward could have played any sport.” But is that athleticism enough to make him the man at 175 lbs.?
WBO champ Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) might be the one guy that can walk the 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist down and bust him up. Sergey looks invincible at light heavyweight, even though Adonis Stevenson (24-1, 20 KOs) is the linear World champion, most feel Kovalev deserve that position. Stevenson has a date with “Krusher” Kovalev after Sergey “hurts” Bernard Hopkins (55-5-2, 32 KOs) in November. The only fight that will matter after Bernard is buried is Kovalev-Stevenson.
As dominant as I think Kovalev is at 175, a move to cruiserweight (200) would be the hardest and biggest jump of any champion from jr. middleweight to light heavyweight. Unless Kovalev could put together a Roberto Duran-like Iran Barkely performance, he would be hard pressed to be the victor vs. Yoan Hernandez 28-1, 14 KOs).
So while Canelo, GGG, Andre Ward and “Krusher” Kovalev might be head and shoulders above the others in their perspective divisions, moving up in weight does not look like something Pedro would recommend. Unfortunately, moving up appears the only way that Alvarez, GGG, Ward and Kovalev can reap obscene amounts of money.
Pedro Fernandez