Boxing is a true American pastime. Many of the greatest champions in history repped the stars and stripes. Two of the greatest sports films of all time feature the sweet science and this Friday Southpaw will attempt to climb that list as well.
But boxing is so bloated with various organizations and sleazy promotion that it’s become relatively inaccessible to casual viewers. We aim to change that. Jason and David claimed themselves too classy for this barbarism and are off drinking expensive wine in bright polo shirts and khakis, leaving Sean and Siri to hold your hand as the guide you towards two of boxing’s most brilliant and accessible stars.
Sean Feral – Nonito Donaire
Many people only think of Manny Pacquiao when it comes to Filipino fighters. But Manny’s career is waning and every torch gets passed on. Enter the man they call the “Filipino Flash”, Nonito Donaire.
Donaire is a five-division world champion and is also a former IBF, WBO, Ring Super Bantamweight, WBC, WBO Bantamweight, Interim WBA Super Flyweight, IBF and IBO Flyweight Champion. Although he isn’t as well known in the United States as Pacquiao, Donaire is a rock star in the Philippines and is gaining in popularity here as he continues to amaze with his blinding speed and high punch volume.
As a boxer with the ability to fight in either southpaw or orthodox, there’s really no easy way to know what Donaire is going to do. Power, speed, and technique have been naturally bestowed upon him. His highlight reel of knockouts is something all fans need to see if they already haven’t. At 5’6 and 126 lbs. on a heavy day, Donaire has a surprising amount of power in his hands. In 2007, Donaire shocked the world by KOing the 28-0 Vic Darchinyan with technical precision and power.
This fight won “Knockout of the Year” and “Upset of the Year” and also avenged a controversial loss suffered by Nonito’s brother Glenn at the hands (or elbow) of Darchinyan. That fight was stopped in the 4th round due to a broken/locked jaw suffered by Glenn Donaire from an alleged Darchinyan elbow. (Replays show no evidence of an elbow, and Darchinyan’s camp claimed no foul play.)
In 2011, he was awarded another “Knockout of the Year” against Fernando Montiel. This happened to be one of the greatest knockouts Donaire has ever delivered. At about 2:12 of round 2 Donaire unleashed a counter left hook that landed flush to the temple of Montiel ending the fight quickly.
Although he ran into a slight roadblock in his career suffering a loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux (which snapped a thirty fight winning streak for Donaire) there is no denying his talent and must see ability. In a YouTube video Donaire was showcasing his hand speed and the “Filipino Flash” lived up to his nickname uncorking 14 punches in 3 seconds.
If you’re looking for a can’t miss fighter, Nonito Donaire is definitely a boxer you won’t want to miss.
Siri Karri – Gennady Golovkin
The thing about boxing is that it is so much more restrictive than mixed martial arts; your only tools are your knuckles and your target is restricted to the front half of the body above the waist. Plus the gloves are enormous. What I’m trying to say is that championship knockout artists in boxing are just that: artists.
That makes Kazakhstan middleweight champion Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin the Michelangelo of our generation with 19 straight knockouts and 30 overall (!!!)
His highlight reel alone speaks volumes. Whether it’s toppling Nobuhiro Ishida with an overhand right that sent him through the ropes, a beautiful Cuban hook that smashed Marco Antonio Rubio’s skull into his own neck, or the savage methodical beating that forced the corners of Gabriel Rosado and Curtis Stevenson to throw in the towel you can’t go wrong with a Golovkin fight.
Nothing quite sums up the carnage quite like his dismantling of Matthew Macklin. Macklin had arguably beat Felix Strum and taken middleweight phenom Sergio Martinez to the limit in respective title fights, yet Golovkin only needed two and a half rounds to do this:
The thing that people forget is that Golovkin is terrifying because he isn’t a bruiser. Tear your eyes away from the highlight reel long enough and you will see a technical master who, like an artist, builds from solid foundations before adding the aesthetic flair.
Golovkin has a beautiful jab and knows how to use it. He’ll use it to figure out an opponent’s timing and range, to counter them, to hurt them, or simply to start a combination. Watching a Golovkin fight you can see an opponent’s composure markedly change after eating a couple solid jabs. His hooks come in from all angles, circumventing elbows and gloves as they loop around and concuss bewildered opponents.
But the real beauty in Golovkin’s violent waltz is how he uses punches to set up other punches. Against Ishida, Golovkin used body shots to punish the taller and lankier fighter’s midsection. When Ishida bent to get his elbows lower to protect his ribs, Golovkin met him with uppercuts. Eventually Ishida stood upright to avoid the uppercut so Golovkin threw a lead uppercut to make sure his opponent’s head stayed up and then tore it off with an overhand right.
Against the aforementioned Macklin, Golovkin first threw a right uppercut to make sure his opponent’s hands stayed in front of his face which allowed him to blast his unprotected liver.
The best example is this quick sequence against Grzegorz Proksa.
Golovkin hurts him badly with a left hook to the body. Observing this he pins Proksa’s guard in place with a right uppercut and throws a palm down left hook (allowing the punch to loop around the elbow and connect with the knuckles) to the body and when Proksa buckles at the waist he combines it with the force of his lead uppercut to do serious damage.
That’s brutal and unbelievably beautiful. Whether you just want to see a knockout, want to see boxing in its purest or even want to learn how to box you can’t do much better than GGG.
These two fighters have a healthy career ahead of them and we urge you to check out their highlights reels on YouTube. Trust us, you won’t be disappointed.
