http://youtu.be/Epqh9fOZAKQ
This Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson California, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin makes his west coast debut against Marco Antonio Rubio.
The Germany-based Kazakhstan native puts his middleweight title on the line against the rugged Mexican veteran in the main event, while “The Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire defends his featherweight title against undefeated Jamaican Nicholas Walters. The fan response in Los Angeles has been nothing short of amazing, as the promoter has added bleacher seating to accommodate the expected over-capacity sellout crowd, which will likely set records for the venue. Today the four headliners of the highly anticipated “Mexican Style” card hit a gym in nearby Santa Monica to workout and talk to the media.
Walters (24-0, 20KO) was up first, and he was all business. He did some shadowboxing and hit the mitts with his trainer, then jumped out of the ring and took questions from the media. Despite performing on the biggest stage of his career, Walters took it all in stride. The Montego Bay native has spent most of his career fighting in Panama in relative obscurity, yet he hit the scene May 31st with his five round destruction of faded veteran Vic Darchinyan. Now he clearly understands that Saturday is his big chance to become a breakout star. Walters carries a 2” height advantage and a 5” reach advantage over Donaire
Next up was Marco Antonio Rubio, who was very procedural throughout. There was some brief shadowboxing in the ring, then some heavy bag work, then off to the media area for interviews. Rubio took his time responding to media questions and looked light on his toes during the short ring session. Saturday will be the Mexican’s first bout in America since his decision loss to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in San Antonio nearly three years ago. Rubio (59-6-1, 51KO) figures to have the crowd support, as the StubHub Center fight crowds are generally Mexican-American. Could that provide the push that leads to an upset?
Nonito Donaire seemed to have the most fun of all the fighters today, spending a lot of time talking with the media before working out. As The Filipino Flash entered the ring he was greeted by his wife and one year old son Jarel, who adorably punched at the mitts, eliciting a collective “aweee” from the crowd. Daddy Donaire didn’t even tape up; he just shadowboxed for a few minutes and then went back down to the media area for more interviews. The 2012 Fighter of The Year came off somewhat aloof as he joked around with reporters. Donaire (33-2, 21KO) is 2-0 at the StubHub Center and figures to have good crowd support with the large Filipino population in the Los Angeles area. But could he be taking his opponent lightly?
http://youtu.be/OqJp6n8ezB8
And then finally, it was time for the best middleweight in the world to show his stuff. Golovkin, undefeated at 30-0 (27KO), hasn’t heard the final bell of a fight in over six years. The fanfare seems to build with every bout, as do the expectations. But in today’s media workouts GGG didn’t seem tense at all. He along with his team looked as calm and jovial as ever, soaking in the atmosphere and enjoying the festivities. While his opponent appeared to rush through his workout, Gennady took his time and broke a good sweat, spending a good half hour in the ring jumping rope, shadow boxing and hitting mitts with trainer Abel Sanchez. Indeed GGG looks in very good shape and ready to please the crowd Saturday night. It should be a great show.
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