There are few men in boxing today who can safely make a claim to be the most dangerous fighter on the planet. Right now, Gennady Golovkin sits atop that list.
His explosion onto the middleweight scene was akin to the sporting equivalent of a nuclear bomb being dropped onto an unsuspecting population.
In a few short years of American exposure, he has managed to cement his name as one of the best pound for pound ranked competitors in the sport and boasts the highest knockout percentage in middleweight championship history.
However I’d like to take a look at some of the elusive names that have thus far managed to avoid crossing paths with Golovkin, but who may pose a genuine threat should they ever attempt to derail his path of destruction:
Andre ‘S.O.G’ Ward
‘S.O.G v GGG’.
That has quite a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Granted, at this moment in time, there has been absolutely no official talk of this fight ever happening, with good reason.
Golovkin has stated his intention to remain at middleweight and to dominate the division for as long as possible, while a now light-heavyweight Ward is looking to knock off Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev.
They stand two divisions apart, but given other fighters’ recent ventures into unknown weight territory (Khan and Brook notably) anything seems to be possible at this moment in time.
If one should choose to move up and the other move back down people will start talking. It’s inevitable.
Taking weight out of the conversation, if the pair ever were to agree to fight it would be a genuine 50/50 split in my opinion.
The power and knockout ability of Golovkin versus the slick hand speed and skill of Ward. It’s literally a match made in boxing heaven.
We’ll probably never get to see it, but a man can dream…
Chris Eubank Jr.
The fight that almost was.
Despite a meandering loss to new middleweight champ Billy Joe Saunders, Eubank’s natural skill is clear for all to see when he actually chooses to apply himself and box.
The highly publicised, near fatal encounter with Nick Blackwell stirred a lot of hype around the British champion’s power and paved the way for a potential world title clash with the reigning middleweight king.
Unfortunately, awkward negotiations between teams, put any talk of what would have been an interesting contest to bed very quickly. An ambitious Kell Brook filled the void and we all know how that went – good effort, Kell.
It’s always a shame to see great match-ups tossed to the gutter through silly decision making. If the fight ever does get made it will be interesting to see how Golovkin handles Eubank’s sledgehammer uppercut.
Miguel Cotto
After lifting the WBC and Ring Magazine world middleweight titles from Sergio Martinez and through striking up a seemingly perfect working relationship with veteran trainer Freddie Roach, the future had never looked brighter for Miguel Cotto.
Yes, Martinez may have been suffering with several injuries before the fight but the method and fighting style he and Roach had employed looked exemplary to say the least.
He was confirmed as a legitimate middleweight force to be reckoned with after an early stoppage over former Aussie world champ Daniel Geale.
The pair have thrown each other’s name around in the past and considering they are both strong contenders for hall of fame honours upon retirement, it only makes sense this potential super fight happens sooner rather than later.
Cotto certainly didn’t destroy Alvarez but he laid on a technical showcase and made scoring clean shots a difficulty for the red-headed Mexican.
Anyway, speaking of Alvarez…
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez
The Golden Boy’s new Golden Boy, Canelo has been recognised as one of the sports top stars for several years now and held an impressive undefeated streak before being handed a boxing lesson by a sensational Floyd Mayweather Jr.
How one of the judges had this fight a draw is mind-boggling to me, but that’s a story for a whole other time.
Since then, Canelo has been looking impressive with a notable, albeit close, victory over a very classy Erislandy Lara and a ‘Knockout of the Year’ performance over a headstrong James Kirkland – amongst other significant opposition.
Currently holding a couple of the recognised middleweight belts himself, there’s no doubt that when all the machismo has been put aside and both teams can reach reasonable terms that this will be one of the most watched sporting events of the year.
Make it happen, guys. Do it for the fans.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
And I’m still dreaming with this final name on the list. With Andre Ward taking the number 2 spot, most of you will have seen this coming.
An even more unlikely prospect of a fight than Golovkin/Ward, the chance of Mayweather stepping back between the ropes to face “a giant”, as his father Floyd senior put it, is almost inconceivable.
I’m not saying he has any need to fight Golovkin, his impeccable record speaks for itself of course.
However, considering he’s the most dominant champion of the past couple of decades, on top of the fact he’s recently been spotted grinding away at the Mayweather Gym, one final hurrah against a new pound-for-pound superstar – even if he is a middleweight – would make for unmissable viewing.
If you’re the best and you’re going to leave, at least make it a challenge.
If some people don’t think he’s ‘TBE’ yet, a dominant performance over Golovkin would certainly help them on the way to that thought.
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