The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of October 20
Gennady Golovkin did it again on Saturday night, blowing right through another middleweight contender.
We ponder whether or not GGG has established himself as the top dog at 160 pounds and try to assess where he goes from here.
On the same card, Nicholas Walters vanquished Nonito Donaire with stunning ease.
What comes next for both men?
Is Walters on the path to being a star? And should Donaire just walk away?
All that and more, including the latest Floyd Mayweather drama, in this week’s edition of the hottest storylines in boxing.
Has Gennady Golovkin Proven His Point?
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Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Golovkin is one scary dude.
The Kazakh bomber extended his knockout streak to 18 on Saturday night at the StubHub Center, drilling veteran contender Marco Antonio Rubio in Round 2 to retain his middleweight championship.
The ultimate result was expected, but most observers felt that Rubio, a big puncher himself, would at least provide a fair amount of resistance.
So much for that.
Golovkin now moves on to bigger and better things, hopefully, and you’d have a hard time arguing that he isn’t the best middleweight on the planet at the moment.
In his post-fight comments, GGG made it clear that he wants a showdown with Miguel Cotto next—by virtue of his winning the WBC interim title from Rubio he’s now the No. 1 contender—but that fight seems somewhat unlikely.
At least in the immediate term.
Cotto is more likely to pursue a lucrative, and less physically threatening, bout with Canelo Alvarez, and that could put Golovkin in position to await the winner.
And therein lies the essential conundrum that affects everything in Golovkin’s professional universe.
By winning fights like he did on Saturday night, he becomes a bigger draw and a bigger attraction—he drew a record crowd at the StubHub Center on Saturday night in a fight designed to lure boxing's large Hispanic market—but he gives potential foes little incentive to face him.
But Golovkin just needs to keep doing what he does best—lay waste to anyone willing to face him.
He’s already the elephant in the room, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for high-profile fighters to avoid him.
And that train continues chugging along the tracks.
What Does the Future Look Like for Nicholas Walters?
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Walters came, saw and conquered Donaire, a former pound-for-pound entrant, knocking him out and taking his title in a star-making performance.
The Axe Man from Jamaica showed that he wasn’t just the crude slugger some had made him out to be. He boxed beautifully, utilizing his long, piston-like jab to control the distance of the fight and set up his power shots.
Aside from one moment of carelessness near the end of Round 2, Walters was in command the whole way, dropping Donaire with an uppercut in Round 3 and closing the show in Round 6.
He’s now officially arrived on the big stage and should have no problem finding exciting fights going forward.
Vasyl Lomachenko, who also holds a 126-pound title, is a distinct possibility.
The 26-year-old holds the WBO Featherweight Championship, and a unification bout featuring his pure technical boxing skill and Walters power would be intriguing.
As would a match with fellow big puncher Jhonny Gonzalez.
Gonzalez also holds a belt at featherweight, and two big sluggers going at it has all-action fight written all over it.
The future is clearly bright for the new WBA champion, but not so much for the man he vanquished.
Should Nonito Donaire Call It a Career?
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It went from bad to worse for Donaire on Saturday night.
Already appearing on the back end of a stellar professional career, the Filipino Flash didn’t show much of anything against Walters.
He was cut and dropped early, never really seeming to do much more than look for one big shot before being stopped.
When Walters put him on the mat for a second time in Round 6, all you had to do was look at his body language to know the night was over. And with it, possibly his career as well.
Donaire was dominant at bantamweight and super bantamweight. He won multiple world titles, defeated multiple champions and established himself as a superstar.
But those days are over.
He's just 2-2 in his last four fights, and his wins have been far less impressive than his losses.
He was noncommittal about his future plans in the ring after the fight, but it’s probably best to walk off into the sunset at this point.
Walters is an impressive specimen, and he showed that he’s got a lot more in the arsenal than just punching power.
But, still, you’d have to think that a prime Donaire would have, at the very least, not been handled in that manner.
Age creeps up on smaller fighters quicker than the big boys, and with questions about his mentality heading into the fight, Donaire has nothing more to prove.
It’s time to go, rather than hang on for one fight too many.
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Is There Any Teeth to Mayweather Lawsuit?
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Mayweather just can’t catch a break of late.
After being investigated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission a few weeks ago over issues related to Showtime’s All Access program, Mayweather now finds himself the subject of a lawsuit.
Hasim Rahman Jr. and Sharif Rahman, sons of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, have filed suit, per Dan Rafael, in Nevada against Mayweather, Mayweather Promotions and Showtime, alleging a variety of improprieties.
The thrust of the case revolves around unsanctioned fights that took place at Mayweather’s Las Vegas gym, which were shown on All Access and where the pound-for-pound king was present.
The Rahman brothers, who are both amateur fighters, allege that they were forced to fight and that they never signed any documentation that would allow their image to be used for Showtime’s promotional show.
In addition, they accuse Mayweather of negligence and not providing adequate safety measures at his gym.
It’s far too early to tell how this will all play out, but it’s been a cascade of bad tidings for Mayweather ever since he outpointed Marcos Maidana in a rematch this past September.
And it seems like the news just keeps on getting worse.
When it rains, apparently, it pours.
Will Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Get Back in the Ring Now?
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Julio Chavez Jr. has parted ways with his manager, Billy Keane, raising hopes that a return to the ring could be in the offing.
The former middleweight champion has been engaged in a dispute with his promoters at Top Rank over the state of his contract.
Top Rank claims that Chavez Jr. is still contractually obligated for one more fight with the company, a contention the fighter disputes.
The question now is whether Keane’s departure opens the door for a reconciliation between the parties, or if it will drive them further apart.
Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, had placed much of the blame for Chavez Jr.’s sputtering career at Keane’s feet, leading to the fighter losing out on high-profile fights.
Chavez Jr. has been heavily courted by power adviser Al Haymon, and the timing of Keane’s release is sure to raise a few eyebrows, given the ongoing legal issues and uncertainty.
If Haymon were to land Chavez Jr., a move to Showtime would certainly be in the offing. HBO refuses to do business with the power broker, and that would make him persona non grata with the network.
Whether or not that decision would be best for his career, given HBO's glut of talent in and around his weight class, remains to be seen.
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