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The middleweight division’s ruler makes another appearance in Monaco as Gennady Golovkin puts his WBA crown at risk tonight against the challenge of Osumanu Adama at Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo.
Golovkin, 28-0 (25), returns to the same arena where he belted out Nobuhiro Ishida in three rounds just ten months ago on the strength of two dominant victories in America, halting Matthew Macklin and Curtis Stevens inside the distance.
The 31 year old former Olympic Gold Medallist from Kazakhstan will be making his ninth title defense against Adama, 22-3 (16), originally from Accra, Ghana.
Chicago resident Adama continues the tradition of Golovkin’s title defenses against less than top class opposition as the 33 year old has losses to Don George and Dyah Davis, only defeated Grady Brewer by split decision last March and who’s only win of note is against a diminished Roman Karmazin.
Adama has, however, faced one opponent that is a higher grade than anyone Golovkin has met to date as a professional; Daniel Geale.
Geale and Adama tangled in Tasmania two years ago for Geale’s IBF strap but Adama was outboxed and outmaneuvered in nearly every round.
Golovkin has looked like an absolute monster during his title reign, but let’s take a look at who he has beaten in WBA title bouts: Nilson Julio Tapia, Kassim Ouma, Lujan Simon, Makoto Fuchigami, Gregorz Proksa, Gabriel Rosado, Ishida, Macklin and Stevens.
Good fighters, every one of them, but top of the line middleweights? No.
The only one of those opponents to ever be legitimately world class was Ouma, and he was well past his best, which was at light middle, when he faced Golovkin.
When will Golovkin meet the other top middleweights, which, right now, consist of WBC champ Sergio Martinez, WBO boss Peter Quillin and IBF ruler Felix Sturm?
Team Golovkin has recently mentioned wanting to grapple with Martinez or Quillin next and right there we have Adama’s only real hope: that he is being overlooked for bigger game down the road.
Although Golovkin hasn’t fought the best and the brightest at 160 pounds yet, a fully focused “GGG” would probably wipe out the trio of other champions to take all the belts, with only Martinez standing a real chance, but at 38, the Argentine southpaw may no longer have the stamina to defeat Golovkin.
Does Adama have a chance to pull off a shocking upset? Yes. But it is a very, very small chance.
Adama has a quick left hand and reflexes but that’s about it for the weapons he will bring into the ring against Golovkin. The challenger’s disadvantages of not having the greatest balance and tendency to wing very wide, telegraphed power punches will leave him in a dangerous position against “GGG”.
The very small chance Adama has, aside from Golovkin possibly not taking him seriously as a legitimate threat, is that he has absolutely nothing to lose and that the champion doesn’t have the best defense and punches widely himself at times.
Adama likes to fight from the outside behind the jab and if he can keep on his toes, sticking and moving when Golovkin comes forward, that will be his first opportunity.
If he can’t do that and Golovkin can gain proximity and force Adama to fight early, the bout won’t go very long.
If Adama can use his quick reactions to make Golovkin miss those long right hands he likes to throw and then score with the sharp counter left hook he possesses, that would be opportunity number two to survive.
If that does occur, Golovkin could suffer from a dent in his confidence, and at that point Adama would need to gamble everything and make it a dogfight, pressing Golovkin, putting him in the unaccustomed position of having to rely on his defense and box while going backward.
No one thus far has been able to make this happen, and it’s unlikely Adama will be the fighter to do it, but it is the game plan to beat “GGG”, and anywhere south of 175 pounds, perhaps only WBA super middle champ Andre Ward could actually pull it off.
So, until then, Golovkin will, almost assuredly, continue to be “The Monster” at 160 pounds.
