Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Ward, GGG, Lomachenko, & Klitschko/Joshua!!

04/11/2017 Vivek Wallace

Robbie N. (Texas): You can argue that Andre Ward lost (to Kovalev), we saw GGG look beatable against Jacobs, and Roman Gonzalez is obviously beatable, as well. What argument can be made against placing Lomachenko as #1 in your opinion?

Vito W.: I’ll give my thoughts, but as I’ve indicated before, I don’t subscribe to the ‘mythical’ angle. When we look at the text book definition of P4P, there’s no true angle for multiple men to wear that badge at one time. (For further explanation, please see past articles/mailbags where I’ve touched on that topic). As it relates to the ‘mythical’ perspective, I still think naysayers have an angle to keep him from the #1 spot, for the simple fact that he hasn’t done enough in the sport to claim the title. I think from a skill standpoint, what makes him most dangerous is the fact that he has an amazing offense to dispatch with that incredible footwork/defense. The last guy we saw deeply skilled on both offense and defense has some thinking he’s “TBE” (Mayweather). Loma has very similar attributes, and as a result, could create that same type of legacy.

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GGG likely to skip Saunders June fight, rest up and concentrate on Canelo September showdown

04/11/2017 James Slater

It doesn’t look as though world middleweight ruler Gennady Golovkin will go ahead with a planned June fight, and will instead rest up and focus fully on the still hoped for superfight with Canelo Alvarez this September. According to “multiple sources” who spoke with Yahoo! Sports, GGG will skip the June fight.

WBO middleweight champ Billy Joe Saunders, who was all set to travel over to Golovkin’s home country of Kazakhstan for the June fight, said all along that he would not wait indefinitely, that he would move on to another fight if Triple-G didn’t sign the contract ASAP. Now it seems BJS will indeed move on (and not be too happy about it; losing out as he has on such a massive opportunity and payday).

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Warren on GGG-BJS: “Financial terms have been agreed it’s just whether they want to do it or not

03/29/2017 James Slater

Fight fans may have read how reigning WBO middleweight champ Billy Joe Saunders issued world ruler Gennady Golovkin an ultimatum: sign to fight me by the end of this week or I move on to another fight. Well, Saunders’ promoter Frank Warren, in speaking with ESPN, has extended the deadline to the end of next week.

Like his fighter, though, Warren insists there will be no waiting game employed with this fight.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Golovkin, Canelo, & Brook v Spence

03/27/201703/27/2017 Vivek Wallace

Eric M. (Bronx, NYC): Oscar De la Hoya said that he will take his offer off the table and change it for a potential clash between Canelo and Golovkin. Considering that GGG just won against Jacobs, why does that make sense if they truly want the fight?

Vito W.: I’m not quite sure why, but there’s a popular consensus out there that Oscar’s move was the wrong one. Personally, I think any other promoter in the sport would have made the same move if given the same set of circumstances. When Goldenboy Promotions extended the offer to Golovkin before, I felt it was a bit generous, considering that it was leaps and bounds above anything Golovkin could land anywhere else. Still, they justified the deal based on the growing pulse in the sport around his name. Not results. Simply the ‘buzz’. There was nothing in his resume that earned him a guarantee on the $10M+ level at any previous point.

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Virgil Hunter: Andre Ward is not a light-heavyweight, he’s still a super-middleweight – GGG fight a possibility

03/27/201703/27/2017 James Slater

Ask any fight fan, and they will tell you that unbeaten pound-for-pound king (according to “The Bible,” Ring Magazine) Andre Ward has unfinished business with Sergey Kovalev, the man he so controversially dethroned to become 175 pound champ last November. Ward’s trainer Virgil Hunter agrees, saying the exact same thing to TownBizzNizz Sports & Media.

Hunter, though, adds how his fighter is “not a light-heavyweight, he is still a super-middleweight.” The anticipated rematch with Kovalev is expected to happen this summer, but Hunter says that after Ward has “finished with Kovalev” his star boxer may move down to 168 for a huge fight with Gennady Golovkin. Hunter says Ward would have no problem doing this.

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How To Score A Pro Boxing Match

09/25/201703/26/2017 Andrew Hall

Whenever a fight goes to the scorecards it seems controversy ensues. This is especially true with the two last big boxing matches: Triple G vs Jacobs and Kovolev vs Ward. Many people felt very strongly that their favortite fighter won. How does one ascertain who won a fight? What is the criteria? How do you break ties when a fight is close? In this article, I want to go through the basics and give a simple methodology to judge fights.

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Loeffler says GGG-Canelo would sell out any arena in America, even Cowboys Stadium

03/27/201703/26/2017 James Slater

It goes without saying that we all want, quite desperately, to see the huge Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez fight go ahead as scheduled this September. We have no idea yet if this will be the case, but Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler remains optimistic, recently stating how there is simply too much money at stake for it not to take place.

And this weekend, in speaking with TMZ Sports, Loeffler commented on just how big the fight will be if it happens; Loeffler says the fight would sell out any arena it took place in – even the enormous Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

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Canelo-GGG: De La Hoya to take previous offer to GGG off the table – questions GGG’s selling power

03/25/201703/25/2017 James Slater

Middleweight king Gennady Golovkin is definitely a star, but is he a big star; even a mega-star? Oscar De La Hoya has major doubts regarding Golovkin’s ability to pull in the big pay-per-view numbers, and as a result, the earlier verbal offer to GGG for a September fight with Canelo Alvarez is “off the table.”

Speaking with The Los Angeles Times, De La Hoya said that a new offer will be put forward to GGG, one that will take into consideration the middleweight champ’s pay-per-view sales.

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Golovkin vs. Jacobs PPV numbers expected above 153K

03/24/201703/23/2017 K2 Promotions

This past Saturday night, March 18 at The Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden, in front of a packed house of 19,939 boxing fans and millions watching worldwide, GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN improved to 37-0 with 33 knockouts with a superb performance in a 12-round unanimous decision victory (115-112, 115-112 and 114-113) over #1 ranked mandatory challenger DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS (32-2, 29 KO’s).

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De La Hoya: Mark my words, when Canelo-Golovkin gets made, Canelo’s not going to respect him one bit

03/21/2017 James Slater

Not only is Oscar De La Hoya even more adamant that his fighter Canelo Alvarez is the A-side in the (hopefully) upcoming Canelo-Gennady Golovkin fight, the Golden Boy head fully believes that Canelo defeats GGG and gives him no respect in the fight.

Speaking with The Los Angeles Times, De La Hoya made it clear he, along with other people, feels GGG’s stock had fallen somewhat due to his close, controversial points win over Danny Jacobs at the weekend. De La Hoya says Jacobs gave GGG “too much respect” in the fight, the first half of the bout especially, and that this ultimately cost Jacobs the fight. De La Hoya says Canelo would make no such mistake.

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