Pre-fight thoughts and ramblings re: Golovkin/Rosado, Gavin, Zewski, Monaghan & Akberbayev

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Decent weekend of boxing coming up guys, Friday Night (January 18) in the UK, we've got All Star British Amateur Frankie Gavin, 14-0 (10 KO) VS Jason Wellborn. Gavin is one of the most decorated British amateur boxers of alltime (winning the Amateur World Championships in 2007) and he's being matched pretty decently here. I don't know much about Wellborn but judging by his record, Gavin should handle him easily. Ive seen Gavin fight in the past and I was "so-so" on him, I thought he could have looked better so be interesting to see how he looks in this fight.

Saturday Night (January 19) we've got a good card going down in New York City on HBO, Mikael Zewski, 17-0 (13 KO) and Isa Akberbayev, 10-0 (7 KO) will both feature on the undercard. Irish Sean Monaghan, 16-0 (10 KO) will also be on the card. Ive seen Zewski fight a few times before and he's certainly quite skilled, be interesteing to see how he develops as he gains more experience but so far he has impressed me. I've never seen Akberbayev fight, but he has a solid record.

In the Televised Event, Eurasian Caucasian Gennady Golovkin , 24-0 (21 KO) will be fighting Gabe Rosado. First let me handle the issue of Golovkin's race, as Ive stated on this site before, I believe we should support Golovkin as he clearly represents European, Soviet, and white boxing. I do consider Golovkin largely "white", and absolutely he is Caucasian so I believe we should support him based on the fact he is Caucasian and the fact he represents Euro Boxing Scene. I also think that the public will largely interpret him as "some Russian". Because of these factors, I believe we should support him as a Caucasian boxer.

Now let me discuss the matchup: Golovkin is quite possibly the most lethal puncher in boxing currently aside from Wlad Klitschko (I can't think of anyone else with comparable power, maybe Lebedev? but thats it), good speed, and amazing ring IQ which comes from his 300+ fight amateur career, where he won a Silver Medal at the Olympics. Apparently, Ive heard that in 300 fights, he only lost about 4 fights. I really don't see anybody having an easy fight with Golovkin, and quite frankly, I'd say him and Sergio occupy the top two positions at Middleweight. In fact, I dare say that Golovkin is potential P4P #1 material somewhere down the line, depending on how his career plays out. This guy has all the talent and fighting skill in the world. Golovkin is as good as anyone we've got in the Pro's, with the exception of the Klitschko Brothers.

Rosado is a light skinned, Puerto Rican Hispanic living and fighting out of Philadelphia who only began boxing at the age of 18. He's a likable guy and I actually find him a nice personality, his trainer is white and he seems very respectable, humble, and gentlemanly. Rosado was a mandatory challenger at 154 lb. to IBF Chamion Negro Cornelius Bundrage. Honestly, GABE ROSADO SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THAT FIGHT AGAINST BUNDRAGE. He actually would have probably won that fight and down the line could have made more money. Unfortunately, I think his management team is "cashing him in", and I can't see him being competitive with Golovkin. I'll be VERY surprised if Rosado makes the distance. Rosado is tough and has shown amazing courage in his fights, but this fight is biting off too much. HBO must have paid him well in order for him to take this risk. Its absolutely retarded to risk it against a dangerous fighter like Golovkin, when you're already a mandatory for a winnable fight against Champion Bundrage.

Essentially, I feel that Gabe Rosado has been let down by his management, and fighting a safer titlefight against Bundrage would definitely have been the better option for him. A guy who only started boxing at age 18 stands almost no chance against someone with 300+ amateur fights. We'll see that on fight night.

Comments/Thoughts/Anything you'd like to share, please feel free :)

I'll definitely be watching the HBO card and I'll try and maybe watch Gavin's fight if I can.

Prediction: Gavin, Zewski, Akberbayev, and Monaghan all winning. Golovkin KO Rosado in 3-5 rounds.
 
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Westside

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Pretty much agree with your assessments BS2 regarding this weekends fights. I for one will be glued to TV set when TripleG steps in. I believe after Sergio Martinez retires in 2 years, GGG will be the future of the 154 to 160 lbs division with the 168 lbs division within reach.

Thus far based on his performance and potential he may be a once in lifetime fighter. Rosado is going to need alot of............... :help: prior to getting destroyed.
 
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Charles Martel

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I'm looking forward to Kovalev-Campillo more than any other fight.

Not an easy opponent for Kovalev, but if he wins he's established himself as a top light heavyweight contender.
 

Westside

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I'm looking forward to Kovalev-Campillo more than any other fight.

Not an easy opponent for Kovalev, but if he wins he's established himself as a top light heavyweight contender.
You are correct. Campillo is a crafty fighter. He exposed Cloud as a second tier fighter rather than an elite fighter. Campillo was robbed in that fight. Hence, Popkins sees a chance and has contracted to fight Cloud next.

Yes, if Kovalev wins in great fashion he will establish himself as a top 10 contender in the 175 lbs ranks.
 
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I'm looking forward to Kovalev-Campillo more than any other fight.

Not an easy opponent for Kovalev, but if he wins he's established himself as a top light heavyweight contender.

Yes, I am also massively anticipating Kovalev-Campillo. Kovalev looked absolutely thrilling in his last fight which I watched live (KO 3 Lionell Thompson), and he's quickly becoming one of my favourite fighters! Kovalev also has an extensive amateur background and that's a big plus which should help him on fight night.

Campillo, 21-4-1 (8 KO) is an awkward boxer-type guy to fight, 3 of his losses are very "iffy" (losing split decisions to Cloud, Murat, and Shumenov). I actually watched his last fight against American Negro "Champion" Tavoris Cloud, and though I can't remember exactly how I scored it, I believe I scored the fight something like 116-112 Campillo. In other words, I felt it was a very bad decision and clearly a case of an American Negro getting the benefit and robbing another opponent. HBO, Showtime are always so fond of pushing these American Negroes and giving them gift decisions in fights they clearly lose.

It'll be a tough fight for Sergey, but I think he can do it. Looking at Campillo's record, I notice of his 4 losses, 1 by KO to Vyacheslav Uzelkov, which means he's shown chin issues in the past. Kovalev is an explosive puncher so that's a good sign for him! A win will put Kovalev right into title contention at 175.

I'll be rooting very hard for Kovalev! Actually I was thinking on making a separate thread for his fight, or I was thinking that possibly someone else would make one. Lol. Anyway, great weekend of fights and I'll be supporting Kovalev and Golovkin fully!
 
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Liverlips

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Golovkin is already top 10 P4P in my opinion.

Kovalev is a future champ at 175 as well.

These guys will win easily. Combine that with the excellent results in Bellator last night and Bisping's likely win and it will be quite a weekend for our white fighters.
 

Charles Martel

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I like both Gabriel Rosado and Gennady Golovkin.

I think Rosado has as much European (Spanish) heritage as Gennady, who had an Asian mother and a white Russian father.

Rosado is a ring warrior who refused to fight at a catchweight of 158 and wanted to fight GGG at the middleweight limit of 160.

That's quite a contrast to the craven Floyd Mayweather who insists on catchweights, and to Andre Ward, who demanded Andre Dawson go down to 168 to fight him so he'd be weight-drained.

I also like both Orlando Salido and Mikey Garcia (who appears to be a full-blooded Indian). Mexican-American and Mexican boxers are usually warriors in the ring, not cowardly runners.
 
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I like both Gabriel Rosado and Gennady Golovkin.

I think Rosado has as much European (Spanish) heritage as Gennady, who had an Asian mother and a white Russian father.

Rosado is a ring warrior who refused to fight at a catchweight of 158 and wanted to fight GGG at the middleweight limit of 160.

That's quite a contrast to the craven Floyd Mayweather who insists on catchweights, and to Andre Ward, who demanded Andre Dawson go down to 168 to fight him so he'd be weight-drained.

I also like both Orlando Salido and Mikey Garcia (who appears to be a full-blooded Indian). Mexican-American and Mexican boxers are usually warriors in the ring, not cowardly runners.

Fully agree with all points you make, and yes, Rosado is very light skinned and is obviously a mix between Euro and North American Aboriginal on some level (his skin is very light, so I'd say a good portion of his heritage is Euro).

I'm a big fan of both GGG and Rosado, actually I feel bad for Rosado because sorry to say but I don't think he has any chance of surviving the distance in this fight, let alone winning it. I expect him to be knocked out badly. He's a great guy and I would have preferred to see him exercise his mandatory and take on Negro Cornelius Bundrage at 154, where I would have picked Rosado to win and become a champion. I would have also preferred Golovkin to fight Negro Fernando Guerrero on HBO tomorrow (but as we all know, HBO doesn't like showing fights where Negroes get KO'd, so Rosado was chosen ahead of Guerrero).

Clearly, his management has opted to take more money for more risk. I wouldn't have taken that approach with Gabe personally, he should have taken the fight with Bundrage. But hey, money talks. Gabe is a great guy and he's come up the hard way. I will be disappointed to see him lose. Hopefully he's atleast getting paid well.

Gabe is a top notch guy!
 

The Hock

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Some good fights. I'm getting pickier as I get older so I don't watch every fight all fight like I did when I had more time. But I'm gonna sit me down with some popcorn and watch these fights. Especially Golovkin. I think he's a special talent.
 

Liverlips

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Glen Foot - a white man from Sunderland, wins the English welterweight Prizefighters tournament today. May be one to watch for.
 

werewolf

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Well, I saw one 20 second fight on that link, and then it stopped working. Now what?
 

Liverlips

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Golovkin and Kovalev really made statements tonight. They are the best at 160 and 168 respectively IMHO.
 

TBProdigy

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Gennady looked as emphatic as usual, dominated from the first bell. I never like seeing a fight end with a cut and Rosado showed heart and class congratulating Golovkin after the win. I want to see Golovkin step up now, he has said he wants big names but we need to see it.

Also one problem I could see with promoting him is he barely speaks a lick of English
 

Liverlips

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"Also one problem I could see with promoting him is he barely speaks a lick of Englis"

And it doesn't stop him! He has an interpretor but he thinks he is speaking clearly!
 
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Kovalev was punching with speed and power rarely seen! He should be fighting for a title now. Golovkin worked Rosado pretty good. One thing I noticed in round 5 I believe was Golovkin wobbled Rosado with an uppercut then Rosado hugged and Golovkin hit a few times behind the head and the ref was real quick to give Rosado a breather for it, effectively letting him clear his head from the uppercut...I thought that was pretty cheesy as you usually don't see time called for behind the head. Ward spent the whole fight talking about Rosado which was nauseating.
 
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Also tonight I wanted to note that Irishman Sean Monaghan beat Native American Roger Cantrell by unanimous decision. Cantrell is a tough fighter IMO who had only lost to Andre Ward and Anderzej Fonfara. I didn't see the fight but good win for Monaghan.
 
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I have to be honest guys, I'm a huge Golovkin fan, but I'm also a huge Rosado fan. And actually I was a bit heartbroken seeing Rosado all bloodied up and lose tonight. Rosado showed so much class, heart, and bravery. He's truly an inspirational guy and I admired him in the ring tonight. Just a classy guy, and a decent fighter as well (I actually thought Rosado won rounds 4 and 5).

Rosado came from poverty and fought his way to a titleshot, he only had 10 amateur fights (compared to Golovkin's 350 amateur fights). Nothing was given to this man, and he's really came up the hard way in boxing and life. Rosado had all the odds stacked against him, and all things considered, I thought Rosado held his own and even managed to win 2 rounds in the fight. Rosado was god damn awesome in there and I was happy that his corner stopped the fight, I would have been sad to see him get knocked out.

What a top class guy. His performance tonight was heroic. I'll always be a huge Gabe Rosado fan from now on. Just an awesome dude who came from nothing to make something of his life.

Golovkin/Rosado was a god damn mismatch and Rosado had every possible thing stacked against him. I admire him for standing in there and even winning a round or two. Gutsy, heroic fight from him. I hope he can rebuild his career from here and I think he can, he's definitely a solid contender type fighter.

Gabe Rosado is something special. Absolute top class guy. 90% of fighters would have quit in round 3 or 4, the only reason this fight made it to 7 is because Rosado has no quit in him.

As for Golovkin... What to say? Guy is just lethal. I'd love to see him KO Peter Quillin next.
 
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A final comment on Max Kellerman tonight;

Firstly, his interview with Gennady after the fight was bizarre. Gennady is obviously a very intelligent guy, but his grasp on English is severely limited (understandably so, he's only been in the US a few years). I'm wondering A) why HBO doesn't get a translator that speaks Russian so that we can see a proper interview with Gennady? and B) why does Max ask him overly complex questions, which we all know, Gennady doesn't understand due to the language barrier so couldn't possibly give a coherent answer to? It`s the equiavlent to interviewing a small child. Questions given, but no coherent, sensible answers.

This just baffles me and I mean, after watching that interview, you have more questions than answers.

Secondly, I usually bash Max because I find he has a consistent pro-black, anti-white stance, but tonight I will be honest that he said something that marginally impressed me, which is in the first fight of the evening, he eluded to a very bad decision from 2007, where Negro Joel Casamayor received a decision over Leo Santa Cruz. Max called that decisions very bad. Thats strange because Max usually assumes a pro-black stance in almost every conversation.

Generally speaking I can`t stand Max, but atleast he`s speaking a bit honestly about robberies in the US.
 

Charles Martel

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I have to be honest guys, I'm a huge Golovkin fan, but I'm also a huge Rosado fan. And actually I was a bit heartbroken seeing Rosado all bloodied up and lose tonight. Rosado showed so much class, heart, and bravery. He's truly an inspirational guy and I admired him in the ring tonight. Just a classy guy, and a decent fighter as well (I actually thought Rosado won rounds 4 and 5).

Rosado came from poverty and fought his way to a titleshot, he only had 10 amateur fights (compared to Golovkin's 350 amateur fights). Nothing was given to this man, and he's really came up the hard way in boxing and life. Rosado had all the odds stacked against him, and all things considered, I thought Rosado held his own and even managed to win 2 rounds in the fight. Rosado was god damn awesome in there and I was happy that his corner stopped the fight, I would have been sad to see him get knocked out.

What a top class guy. His performance tonight was heroic. I'll always be a huge Gabe Rosado fan from now on. Just an awesome dude who came from nothing to make something of his life.

Golovkin/Rosado was a god damn mismatch and Rosado had every possible thing stacked against him. I admire him for standing in there and even winning a round or two. Gutsy, heroic fight from him. I hope he can rebuild his career from here and I think he can, he's definitely a solid contender type fighter.

Gabe Rosado is something special. Absolute top class guy. 90% of fighters would have quit in round 3 or 4, the only reason this fight made it to 7 is because Rosado has no quit in him.
I agree with you. I have a lot of respect for Rosado, he's a courageous ring warrior.
 
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I agree with you. I have a lot of respect for Rosado, he's a courageous ring warrior.

I have the utmost respect for him. The way he was fighting tonight, he was literally prepared to die out there in order to win the fight. He went out on his shield. I`m glad the fight was stopped and he finished the fight on his feet, with his pride and dignity, as it should be. He`s also an amazing boxer and at times he landed some great, flush shots, as I said, I honestly thought he won rounds 4 and 5 in the fight. That`s pretty amazing and quite an accomplishment when you consider he only had 10 amateur fights (and started boxing at age 18) compared to Gennady`s 350.

This was a mismatch, but Rosado made the most of it. He was amazing tonight and even though he lost the fight, Im sure he gained a lot of fans. He was the standout guy tonight for me. I`m sad he lost, but I`m sure he will rebuild himself, he has the mentality and skills to do it. He was pretty damn awesome in there tonight and I think at 154 he make some noise, I would have favoured him over Bundrage.

He`s certainly a personal hero of mine after tonight. Absolute top class guy. Not many people with his integrity level. He was a hero tonight!

Being a boxing fan for many years, you see a lot of guys coming and going but Gabe Rosado really stands out as something special. A real heroic guy who came up the hard way to achieve things in his life.
 
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