Angulo: Golovkin’s chin hasn’t been tested 100%, Canelo has chance against him

Boxingnews24.com

By Jeff Aranow: Super middleweight Alfredo Angulo gives Saul “Canelo” Alvarez a good chance of beating undefeated middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin when the two of them square off in 2017 or in the future. Angulo says that Golovkin’s chin has not been tested yet by a good fighter, and it would be if he fought Canelo.

Angulo, 34, says Golovkin’s punching power would give him a chance of beating Canelo, but he seems Canelo showed that he can take a hard punch without getting knocked out when he beat the hard hitting James Kirkland in 2015. Kirkland landed 3 rounds before Canelo knocked him out. Before Kirkland was knocked out, he landed a few really big punches in the fight. He tested Canelo’s chin, and he took the power and was able to get Kirkland out of there. Canelo could do the same thing against Golovkin. Kirkland wasn’t able to last long against Canelo because he was too slow.

Kirkland’s hand speed looked much slower than Canelo’s speed. Golovkin is about as fast as Kirkland as far as hand speed goes. The main differences between Kirkland and Golovkin are the defensive ability and the jab of GGG. As we saw in Golovkin’s fight with Danieo Jacobs, Triple G can be hard to hit when he wants to be. He made Jacobs miss a lot in that fight. But it came at the expensive of his own offense, because he didn’t throw nearly as many punches as he normally does in his fights.

“Yeah, Jacobs really fought a good fight, but he needed a little bit more,” said Alfredo Angulo to Villianfy Media about the Jacobs vs. Golovkin fight. “As you know when you fight a world champion, he has a little more of an advantage and you have to win the rounds more clearly. It was a good fight. Golovkin’s punch doesn’t have anything to do with anything. Golovkin had respect for Jacobs’ power,” said Angulo.

Jacobs fought well against Golovkin, but he never made up for his 4th round knockdown. Jacobs fought more like he was the champion instead of the challenger. What I mean to say is Jacobs wasn’t coming forward the way that a challenger is expected to do against a champion. It was mostly Golovkin that was pressuring Jacobs the entire fight. Jacobs did a little pressuring in the second half of the fight, but it was still Golovkin that was attacking. With Jacobs’ size advantage in the fight, he should have used it to attack the smaller Golovkin. Jacobs wasn’t weighed in on the night of the fight, but he looked at least 10 pounds heavier than Golovkin, possibly 15 lbs. heavier.

“My way of looking at that fight doesn’t change,” said Angulo. “I keep thinking the same thing. Golovkin has a good opportunity because of the punch he has. But I also think Canelo has a good opportunity, because he’s been learning, and Golovkin’s chin hasn’t been tested 100 percent. When Canelo fought with James Kirkland, he hit him and Canelo showed that he can take it. I think it’s going to be an interesting fight to see who will get their hand raised at the end of the fight,” said Angulo.

Canelo looks much faster than Golovkin does right now. Golovkin was never fast to begin with, but he looks like he’s starting to slow down some. His power is still quite good, but his speed and his work rate don’t appear to be the same as it was three years ago. Canelo might dominate Golovkin with his hand speed in the same way the he dominated Angulo in their fight in 2014. Angulo was too slow to land much of anything against Canelo. That fight was a real mismatch because of Canelo’s speed.

Angulo looked weak and slow. Golovkin will need to make a lot of changes in his game if he wants to beat Canelo. The way that Golovkin fought Jacobs, he would lose badly to Canelo, considering his lack of speed and his low work rate. The only way Golovkin could beat Canelo is if he jumps on him and throws a lot of combinations. Golovkin would need to throw six or more consecutive punches each time he went on the attack of Canelo. If Golovkin threw one or two punches at Canelo when he would attack, he’d get outworked by him. Golovkin’s only chance of beating Canelo is to flurry on him and tire him out, and maybe catch him with a shot that he can’t take.

Angulo was stopped by Canelo in the 10th round in their fight 3 years ago in 2014. The fight was not competitive. Angulo (24-6, 20 KOs) lost his last fight to journeyman Freddie Hernandez by a 10 round unanimous decision last August at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Angulo doesn’t appear to have the hand or foot speed to do well in the 168lb division. Angulo was a better fighter when he fought in the junior middleweight division from 2005 to 2014.

Angulo does not look good at 168, but he’s also getting older. Angulo will be turning 35 in August. Angulo fought in the 2004 Olympics for Mexico many years ago. It’s hard to believe he fought in the same Olympics as Golovkin. because their careers have been so vastly different.