Gennady Golovkin-Martin Murray Review

HBO World Championship Boxing was live from the Salle des Étoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco as Gennady “GGG” Golovkin was set to defend his WBA and interim WBC middleweight titles against Martin Murray in a bout scheduled for 12 rounds. Murray was supposed to test Golovkin and finally provide a test for “GGG,” who has run through his opposition—riding an 18 KO/TKO streak heading into the fight.

Last time Murray was headlining an HBO WCB broadcast he was in Argentina, and he was on the bad side of a controversial unanimous decision loss to the lineal middleweight champion, at the time, Sergio Martinez. Since the loss, Murray has won 4 in a row, albeit against softer opposition.

Still, Murray appeared like a legitimate test for Golovkin or at least the best fighter heading into a bout with actual momentum.

Golovkin started out the fight in his typical fashion and didn’t rush in there, especially when you consider the way other fighters with the same kind of power typically do. Instead, Golovkin was methodical and tried gauging openings opposed to jumping on his opponent.

Murray utilized a mixture of punches, but mostly stayed in the same style. Still, Murray found success in brief spots with jabs to the body and overhands, nothing landed flush, and it was always one shot at a time.

Golovkin finally landed a decent shot to close out the first round; it was enough to show Murray his power and win him a slow round.

The second round was much better for Murray, who made it a point to get off first and disrupt Golovkin’s approach. Murray won the round by keeping “GGG” from sitting down on his punches and landing more than one shot at a time.