"He shows hunger in knocking his opponent out and that creates so many flaws, man. You know, Gennady Golovkin, he's a tough cookie; will walk you down. When he slips, he slips forward. He doesn't slip back or have to start over. His head is always forward; he's always slippin'," stated super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell, who shared his thoughts about undefeated middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin during a recent conversation with FightHype.com. Although Golovkin is relentlessness in his pursuit of fan-friendly knockouts, according to Dirrell, his style leaves himself open for mistakes that a top opponent can capitalize on.
"He comes with blows. He's a relentless fighter, man. You gotta enjoy watching Gennady Golovkin fight, man, but at the end of the day, it was Willie Monroe who he fought. I'm not saying Willie wasn't a tough opponent; he just wasn't a top opponent, so we have yet to see Gennady Golovkin get really tested yet, you know, but I seen a lot of flaws in that fight with Gennady," Dirrell explained to FightHype's Luis Sandoval. "Simply just stepping over two inches will make him miss and pretty much fall all over the place. He's just a tough, relentless fighter as far as right now. We'll see the real Gennady Golovkin, good or bad, I'm not sure what it'll be, but when he gets in there with a top opponent. He's had his cherry pickings, man. It's time to get in there with somebody tough and show your worth."
Unfortunately for Golovkin, none of the top opponents in or just below his weight class are willing to give him the opportunity to test his skills against them. Until they do, it's difficult to know if Dirrell is correct in his analysis of the undefeated middleweight champion. That being said, there is one thing that Dirrell has first-hand knowledge about and that's Golovkin's power. After facing him two times as an amateur, with both fighters winning one fight each, Dirrell insists that he never once felt the puching power that people are raving about.
"No, no power. It was hard to hit me back in the amateurs. You know, it's really hard to put your hands on me, but I fought him twice and I didn't feel no power at all. It was kind of surprising when I heard about his power punching ability once he turned pro. I'm just like, 'Why is everyone talking about he's got all this power. I don't remember it when I fought him.' But they've probably been developing his power," Dirrell added. "Once he turned professional, he probably knew he wanted to fight at a smaller weight class...he probably started picking up the weights, you know, whatever, but I don't remember him for his power. He wasn't recognized for his power in the amateurs. It was just pretty much his counterpunching ability and his ways to get in. He had a pretty solid style."
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