Listen Now:
By Jackie Kallen
I don’t know Daniel Geale. The 33 year old from Australia and I have never crossed paths. But if we did, I’d be asking him one question: “Why?” I am curious as to why a 30-2 boxer would travel all this way to fight a man who is probably one of the best in the business today. Facing Gennady “GGG” Golovkin is not a walk in the park for any man.
With a dazzling 90% knockout rate, only three men have walked out of the ring upright. That is a pretty impressive statistic since most fighters has some sort of defensive skills in their skill bag. But the 32 year old German has steel fists and knows when to let them go and finish a man.
The fight will be at Madison Square garden, will be seen on HBO, and there are two belts on the line. Geale was here in the States in 2013 when he fought Darren Barker in Atlantic City for Geale’s IBF Middleweight title. Geale did a respectable job, but lost the decision.
On the other hand, GGG has effortlessly destroyed any and all men who have stood in front of him. I am sure that Geale is getting a nice summer payday, and that is no doubt the motivating factor, but he will earn it. Hopefully he has seen his opponent fight and has devised a defensive plan to nullify GGG’s power. No one else has been able to do it.
On a 16-fight KO streak, the longest in current stats, GGG is headed for mega-stardom. He is starting to get recognized on the street here in the states and is a sensation on social media. I give Geale a lot of credit and respect for even getting into the ring with Golovkin.
I will be closely watching the co-main event: A heavyweight bout between two undefeated prospects. Billed as a WBC Title Eliminator, 18-0 Bryant Jennings will take on 20-0-1 Mike Perez. The winner will be the mandatory opponent for champion Bermane Stiverne.
Heavyweights can either be boring to watch or can be the most exciting fighters in the game. In this case, I suspect it will be a good bout. They are a year apart in age, have comparable punching power, and are almost the same height. One factor that may come into play is that Perez is a southpaw.
Neither fighter has any huge names on their records, but they are both on the cusp of moving up the ladder to the elite ranks. This is a turning point for both men. One will move will forward to potential greatness and the other’s 0 will go.
