By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan will be defending his WBA Middleweight Title this Saturday, Feb. 22 in Monaco against Martin Murray of England. The bout can be seen live in the USA and Canada on HBO while British fans can tune in to all of the action on Channel 5.
The 32-year-old Golovkin steps into the ring with a perfect record of 31-0 with 28 Kos and 18 stoppages in a row while the 32-year-old Murray is 29-1-1 with 12 Kos to his name. Murray has about a two-inch height advantage as he’s 6-feet tall and also carries a three-inch reach advantage with his 73-inch wingspan. He’s also fought 177 rounds as a pro while Golovkin has 129 rounds under his belt. Where he doesn’t have the advantage though is in power, as he’s recorded just a dozen knockouts in his 29 wins and that will likely be the difference here.
Murray will need to use the height and reach advantages to try to keep Golovkin at bay, but he’s got to land some telling blows of his own if he wants to win this fight rather than just survive the 12 rounds. There’s no way the challenger wants to get into a slugfest here against the Olympic silver medalist of 2012. Murray will be attempting to win a world title for the third time on Saturday and it could well be his last if he doesn’t succeed. He traveled to Germany in December of 2012 and fought Felix Sturm to a split-decision for the WBA crown and then five months later dropped a close decision to Sergio Martinez in Argentina for the WBC belt.
While Murray isn’t noted for his power, he managed to drop Martinez to the canvas in the bout. But he’s going to have to use his boxing skills to beat Golovkin and will need his chin and body to hold out. Golovkin is the ultimate pressure fighter who digs deep down to the body and gives the head a hell of a workout too. He’s got power in both fists and also seems to have a solid chin. He just keeps coming and wears his opponents down until they eventually wilt and fall.
Golovkin is never in a hurry to finish his opponents as he stalks them and the stoppages just come naturally. If Murray can take the champion’s power then this could turn into an intriguing boxing match which would be decided on points. If that’s the case then Murray has a chance. However, if he’s dropped or hurt during the contests then his chance at taking the crown will go out the window. The Englishman can’t sit on his back foot and wait for Golovkin to initiate the action. He has to get off first and get out or range quickly. He’ll also have to establish his jab and keep his guard high.
Prediction
Give Golovkin credit for fighting as often as he does, but fans are anxious to see him take on an elite opponent sooner rather than later. This isn’t really his fault though as Golovkin says he’s ready to take on anybody, but many of today’s big-name boxers are simply avoiding him. The champion will likely follow his formula for success again in this bout and he’ll eventually break Murray down until he drops to the canvas or the referee steps in to save him.
