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WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin is back in the ring tonight as the Kazakhstan-born slugger climbs through the ropes at The Forum in Inglewood, CA to face the challenge posed by fleet-footed Willie Monroe Jr.
Golovkin, 32-0 (29), has been in search and destroy mode since capturing the WBA crown in 2010, retaining the belt on 12 occasions, finishing off every challenger inside the distance in dominant fashion.
However, the 33 year old Los Angeles resident has yet to meet any of the division’s elite competitors, likely due to the very high risk of facing Golovkin, and that trend continues this evening when 28 year old Willie Monroe Jr, of Ithaca, NY, enters the spotlight in Los Angeles.
Monroe comes into tonight’s clash as the NABA/NABO titlist after defending those straps with an outstanding performance against veteran spoiler Brian Vera in January after defeating two unbeaten rivals in 2014.
This will be the first world title opportunity for Monroe but while “The Mongoose” is short on high level experience, he does bring a great deal of speed and offensive ability to the table and he is also a southpaw.
These factors could cause Golovkin, some difficulty as Monroe is an excellent counterpuncher with sharp reflexes and a very quick punch-trigger.
Golovkin doesn’t have the best defense, and to be honest, he hasn’t had to rely on it much during his career so this contest could answer some lingering questions about the middleweight champion.
But defense is definitely an issue for Monroe as well and that is likely not a survivable flaw against such a machine of destruction as “GGG”.
Monroe’s defense mostly comes in the form of upper body and foot movement, things that were reduced when his stamina levels waned against Vera in January.
If Vera could hit Monroe, what will happen when Golovkin starts to find the target?
Monroe will probably do well in the early rounds against Golovkin and could make the champion look a bit clumsy as “GGG” misses shots and gets countered as well.
But, the challenger will have to keep on the move constantly and when he starts to tire, Golovkin will likely get closer and land body shots, further reducing the movement and energy of Monroe.
At that point, the ability of Monroe to take a very hard punch will become the single issue that decides the outcome of this bout.
If Monroe can take the power of Golovkin and keep punching back, he has a chance to pull off massive upset but if he can’t, it will be just another defense for the best middleweight in recent years.
The undercard will feature the world’s top lighter weight fighter, Roman Gonzalez, 42-0 (36), who will put his WBC flyweight belt on the line against Edgar Sosa, 51-8 (30).
Nicaragua’s Gonzalez has already been a WBA minimumweight and light flyweight king and will be making the second defense of the WBC fly strap.
The 27 year old possesses amazing skills in the ring and has finished off his last eight opponents inside the distance.
At 35, Mexico’s Sosa, who held the WBC light fly title over 10 defenses from 2007-2009, may be on the downside of his career but made a strong bid for the WBC flyweight strap in December, 2013, losing a competitive challenge to Akira Yaegashi in Japan and has since won both appearances he’s made in the ring.
Gonzalez, who dethroned Yaegashi last year by stoppage, is at the peak of his powers however, and should keep his title, probably by a points verdict.
