Teddy Atlas Explains how Gennady Golovkin is no Monster

Many talk of ‘a monster in the middleweight division’ with the name of Gennady Golovkin, but some are not full convinced as yet. One man that is never afraid to say how he feels, Teddy Atlas, explains how he doesn’t see GGG as a monster at all..

Atlas said: Has he [Golovkin] been tested to the highest limits in this business with the highest stratosphere of fighters? ..No, he hasn’t, but he’s done the job with who he’s been in there with.” “When people say he’s a indestructible monster that’s going to clean up all the divisions and this force that can’t be reckoned with, I never believed that.”

“Then when I saw him against Lemieux and everybody started saying oh my god what a boxer, again I took that with a critical eye, with a grain of salt, not for the sake of being critical but for the sake of looking at what is really there, not at just what we want it to be.” Teddy went on to explain how he expected someone like GGG with over 400 amateur fights to beat Lemieux.. “But does that make him a Jake Lamotta? a Sugar Ray Robinson? Does that make him Carlos Monzón? Does that make him Marvin Haglar? ..No.”

Teddy stated how he would like to see Golovkin face Mayweather, “I’d love to see him face Mayweather, to see Golovkin’s strength, his velocity, his will tested against the science of Mayweather, the speed, elusiveness, the craft of Mayweather.” “a lot of people say GGG would be too big, but also, if you believe in Floyd, you’d say Floyd would be too fast, Floyd would be too small, Floyd would be too cute, Floyd would be too slick, I’d like to seem him tested but that’s not going to happen in that way.”

“I tell you tho, I’d be wearing a Golovkin hat if he wins this fight, and I don’t know if that’s going to happen as its all about the money, but Ward, Andre Ward, he’s a guy that brings the whole package in the ring, he’s technically solid, he can fight inside, he can fight outside, he can adjust, he can counterpunch, he can do whatever needs to be done, but the most important thing is, he’s mentally together.” “If Golovkin ever beat him, then I’ll be wearing a Golovkin hat.”

I like Teddy, I always have, but I know a few people personally that would disagree with him here, to say a fighter needs to move up, or down to prove himself isn’t something that’s too common in boxing. Guys like Bernard Hopkins in the past ruled their division and no one was asking them to move up or down to prove themselves. But saying that, Bernard Hopkins had the quality opponents on his résumé. We can’t hold it against Golovkin that there has been a lack of quality fighters for him to fight in his career as the loyal fans of Mike Tyson don’t hold it against Mike for never beating a great fighter in their peak stages of their career.