Boxing Junkie’s fantasy series “Who Wins?” revealed some interesting things about the fighters who were featured.
Boxing Junkie’s “Who Wins?” feature, in which we pitted each of our Top 15 pound-for-pound fighters against five potential opponents and had our three staffers predict winners, is completed.
What did it reveal? A number of things.
The top fighters on our pound-for-pound list are there for a reason.
Nos. 1-3 Vasiliy Lomachenko, Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez went a combined 43-1-1 in their fights (five fights with three predictions each). See below for the final standings.
The results depended heavily on the opposition.
Alvarez went 15-0 (6 KOs) in part because he’s a great fighter, as stated above, but also because the competition at super middleweight isn’t as deep as some other divisions.
Alvarez, who recently won a light heavyweight title was paired with 175-pounder Artur Beterbiev in one of the Russian’s five fights and all three Boxing Junkie staffers predicted Alvarez would lose.
One could argue that the records of Crawford (14-1, 3 KOs) and Errol Spence Jr. (13-2, 6 KOs) are as impressive as Alvarez’s given the inordinate number of quality welterweights compared to super middleweights.
Size matters.
The best example of this is Mikey Garcia, the four-division titleholder who now is a smallish welterweight. His ability stacks up against almost anyone’s but he is at a disadvantage against a full-sized, elite 147-pounder, as we saw when he was dominated by Spence. Garcia went 7-8 (0 KOs).
Age matters.
No one doubts the greatness of Manny Pacquiao, particularly after his victory over Keith Thurman. However, at 41, he can’t fight at the same pace he once did. Plus, he also is a small 147-pounder. Those are reasons the Boxing Junkie staffers gave the nod to Pacquiao’s opponents by a wide margin. Pacquiao went 3-12 (0 KOs), the worse record among the 15 fighters featured.
Gennadiy Golovkin, 37, suffered a similar fate. He’s a great fighter but also an aging one, which caught up with him in our feature. Triple-G went 9-6 (5 KOs).
Fury is clearly No. 1.
The heavyweight division isn’t deep but Fury’s opponents – Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, Oleksandr Usyk, Dillian Whyte and Andy Ruiz Jr. – have had success. And Fury emerged with a record of 14-1 (8 KOs), losing only a close decision against Usyk in the opinion of staffer Sean Nam.
Even special fighters lose.
Two good examples are Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Josh Taylor, who had records of 8-7 (5 KOs) and 7-6-2 (2 KOs), respectively. That has less to do with their abilities than the fighters we had them face.
Sor Rungvisai, a junior bantamweight, had to contend with a gauntlet of superb opponents – Juan Francisco Estrada (in a third fight), Roman Gonzalez (also for the third time), Nayoa Inoue (a bantamweight), Kazuto Ioka and Kosei Tanaka. No one could emerge from those tests unscathed.
And Taylor, a junior welterweight, faced Jose Ramirez, Regis Prograis (in a rematch), Maurice Hooker, Terence Crawford (a welterweight) and Teofimo Lopez (a lightweight). Again, tough assignments.
Boxing Junkie staffers are trying to have some fun while the sport is on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the questions fans love to ask even amid a busy schedule is, “Who would win if …?” With that in mind, we decided to create …
Boxing Junkie staffers are trying to have some fun while the sport is on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.
One of the questions fans love to ask even amid a busy schedule is, “Who would win if …?” With that in mind, we decided to create our own “Who Wins?” feature, in which we pit a single fighter against each of five potential opponents and indicate who we believe would win the fights.
Triple-G is coming off a shaky performance in a close decision over unheralded Sergey Derevyanchenko last October, raising the notion that he’s slowing down as he approaches his 38th birthday, but he remains a major player at middleweight.
In this installment of Who Wins?, our staffers’ give their takes on how Golovkin would do against Canelo Alvarez in a third fight, Demetrius Andrade, Derevyanchenko in a rematch, Jermall Charlo and Jaime Munguia. We then tally Golovkin’s record in those fights and present our standings.
We want to acknowledge that the choice of possible opponents is subjective. We’re looking for the best possible but also realistic foes for our featured boxers. One caveat: We won’t consider promotional and managerial rivalries that often stand in the way of the best matchups. And we’re operating under the assumption that none of our featured boxers will fight with ring rust as result of their forced coronavirus-related layoff.
The plan is to work our way down our pound-for-pound list each day. That means our featured fighter tomorrow will be No. 7 Errol Spence Jr.
So here goes: Inoue vs. his five potential opponents.
GOLOVKIN (40-1-1, 35 KOs) VS. ALVAREZ (53-1-2, 36 KOs)
Is Canelo Alvarez (right) too good for Gennadiy Golovkin at this stage of their careers? Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Rosenthal: Golovkin isn’t as far gone as some seem to believe. He looked so-so in his last fight, a harder-than-expected unanimous-decision victory over Sergey Derevyanchenko that suggested he might be slipping. The guess here is that he lacked inspiration, which he would have in abundance for third fight with Alvarez. Part III would look like Parts I and II – give and take from beginning to end – but Alvarez, who is peaking now, is better at this stage of the game. He wins a clear decision this time.
Frauenheim: The second encore will be more of what we saw in the first encore. Golovkin is a couple fights past his prime. His durability is not the same. Lack of body punching in the first two is a sign GGG won’t step inside. Canelo, unanimous decision.
Nam: The win and draw Alvarez has against Golovkin will forever have asterisks attached to them. But if these two ever fight again – there is talk that it could happen this fall – Alvarez will be the decided favorite and it has all to do with the fact that he’s in his prime and Golovkin is not. Since their last meeting, Alvarez has outclassed Daniel Jacobs and stopped light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev. Golovkin, meanwhile, went life and death against Sergey Derevyanchenko in a fight he barely edged on the scorecards. Alvarez by convincing unanimous decision.
***
GOLOVKIN VS. ANDRADE (29-0, 18 KOs)
Demetrius Andrade (right, landing against Luke Keeler) has skills that could present problems for Golovkin. Melina Pizano / Matchroom Boxing USA
Rosenthal: Make no mistake: Triple-G would be competitive with any middleweight in the world. This might not be a good matchup for him, though. Andrade’s stick-and-move style would drive this somewhat slower version of Golovkin nuts. The fight wouldn’t necessarily look pretty – unless you like pure boxing – but Andrade would be in control from for most of the fight. Andrade by clear decision.
Frauenheim: Andrade falls into a dreaded category: Most Avoided. His slick defense makes him hard to hit. Hard to beat. Worse, he can make better fighters look bad. GGG has the precision and power to hurt him, especially when he throws wild combos. Fight won’t happen, but if it did: GGG, late-round KO.
Nam: It’s not so much that Andrade is “avoided” by the top fighters in the middleweight division but that he is treated more like an afterthought. And he has only himself to blame. Though Andrade was born and bred in the United States, it’s as if he received his education from the Cuban School of Boxing, an outpost that specializes in the art of playing spoilsport in the ring. Andrade will make this a dreary bout, no doubt, and his physical advantages will make Golovkin look like a plodder. Still, Golovkin should be able to to win rounds by landing the more significant punches in what nonetheless figures to be a low, low output affair. Golovkin by ugly close decision.
***
GOLOVKINS VS. DEREVYANCHENKO (13-2, 10 KOs)
How much did the war between Golovkin (left) and Derevyanchenko take out of Triple-G? Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing USA
Rosenthal: Golovkin will be reticent to exchange punches so freely with this bruiser the second time around. He still has a strong skill set and he’ll use it against Derevyanchenko, who will have more difficulty finding the target in this rematch. Golovkin will pick his shots, land some telling blows and be satisfied to win a more-definitive decision this time around.
Frauenheim: Giving Derevyanchenko another chance might be the last mistake in GGG’s career. GGG won a unanimous decision in October. But it wasn’t decisive. A one-point margin on one card and three points on each of the other two mean it was close. Derevyanchenko makes the adjustments, wins split decision.
Nam: There were immediate calls for a rematch after their first bout, but Golvokin, and his braintrust wanted no part of it. Who can blame them? Derevyanchenko rallied from a cut and early knockdown to dominate nearly three quarters of the fight. Golovkin never looked more vulnerable or slower. For every punch Golovkin landed, Derevyanchenko would respond with a three, four punch sally. Expect the same, just worse in the rematch. Derevyanchenko by decision.
***
GOLOVKIN VS. CHARLO (30-0, 22 KOs)
Jermall Charlo has never faced anyone at the level of Golovkin. Stephanie Trapp / Showtime
Rosenthal: Love this matchup. Charlo is a fiery boxer-puncher who will attack Golovkin with measured aggression, picking his spots but not leaving himself open to Golovkin’s big shots too often. Golovkin will take a similar approach in what will become an entertaining, give-and-take battle that will be taxing for both fighters. Triple-G will have his hand raised afterward, the winner of a close decision.
Frauenheim: Charlo has dangerous power. He’s quicker than GGG, too. But his style, dictated by his aggressive instincts, will put him squarely in the middle’s of GGG’s wheelhouse. GGG will catch him coming in, especially in the later rounds. GGG, late-round TKO.
Nam: A competent boxer-puncher with above-average power, Charlo would appear to have the skill set and explosiveness to trouble Golovkin at this stage of the Kazakhstani‘s career. But it’s hard to honestly assess Charlo at middleweight as he has only fought subpar opposition thus far. It’s a close, tactical matchup with intermittent offensive spurts. Golovkin wins on points.
***
GOLOVKIN VS. MUNGUIA (35-0, 28 KOs)
Jaime Munguia (right, unloading on Gary O’Sullivan) has youth on his side but little else against Golovkin. Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos / Golden Boy Promotions
Rosenthal: Munguia, 23, has youth on his side, which gives him hope, but he has too many obstacles to overcome to win this fight. The Mexican is still growing into the 160-pound division and he has the tendency to be reckless, which will play into Triple-G’s hands. He simply can’t slug with Golovkin but knows no other way. This matchup will produce fireworks as long as it lasts but it won’t last long. Golovkin by early KO.
Frauenheim: An interesting fight a couple of years from now. But GGG will be 40 in a couple of years. He’ll be thinking more about retirement than a tough fight against a 25-year-old contender. For now, Mungia has only one fight at middleweight. He’s fun to watch, but his fearlessness will get him knocked out. GGG wins KO.
Nam: There are some signs that Munguia, a former 154-pound titleholder, is improving under new trainer Erik Morales, but the Mexican still remains a rough-hewn project – especially on defense. His inability to keep his hands up, chin tucked and general sloppiness on offense are big red flags against Golovkin, who will dictate the bout with his ramrod jab. Golovkin will find it easier to land his right hand against a relatively slower-moving target in Munguia. Golovkin by late stoppage.
