Genady GGG Golovkin is one of the most powerful and skillful strikers alive today. Offensively and defensively, GGG’s style is built around unrelenting aggression. Lets take a look at how he manages to charge forward and knock out his opponents while taking little damage himself.
Golovkin uses a stiff, heavy jab, leaning forward to build momentum and stepping into his punch. He stays deceptive by constantly changing the level of his guard, alternating his rhythm and direction. The fact his straightest, closest punch holds so much power makes his opponents over reactive to feints and eager to move backwards.
GGG will also lead with his rear hand. Like Joe Louis, Golovkin likes to step to his left and unpin his back foot, opening up his hips to swing through for more torque. This technique makes it easy for him to shift forward into southpaw and chase his competitor.
Golovkin’s heavy hands make his opponents far more receptive to feints and easier for him to drive his opponents against the ropes.
GGG is a complete master at cutting off the ring. He does so by cross stepping his lead foot in front of his back, which keeps his stance narrow and allows him to move farther forward with each step. Moving diagonally forward rather than just sideways is the trick to taking away your opponents escape routes.
By keeping his weight forward and not opening his stance, Golovkin can smoothly transition into his jab or cross.
He uses straight punches to enter into close range, keeping his glove where it is and moving his body forward to retract his punch.
He is in effect smothering his opponent’s counters before they are thrown, and continuing to press them backwards towards the ropes.
Once pressed up close, Golovkin will lean into his opponent, push them off balance, and then attack.
Because GGG’s punches are such a huge threat, any move he makes is taken seriously. This means Golovkin can many times use head movement alone to safely enter into range.
While Golovkin will occasional back up or shoulder roll, his primary method of defense is stepping forward into an oncoming attack. This has led some to believe that Golovkin is getting lucky or relying on his chin. And while it’s generally true that GGG is willing to take some shots to throw his own, the technique he is using takes an incredible amount of skill.
GGG is using a combination of head movement and a tight guard to press forward and stay in close range. He moves his head just enough to allow his opponents punches to slide off of his arms and shoulders, deflecting their impact and setting up opportunities to pressure or counter.
GGG prefers to fight at a very dangerous range, where his opponent can easily hit him without the need to step forward or readjust in the slightest.
At the same time, fighting right in the pocket means that Golovkin can easily step in and deflect a punch before it’s gained power.
And while GGG is close enough to easily smother punches, he is far away enough to move his upper body to different sides of the center line. At this range, GGG is able to attack his opponents from the side, and throw devastating liver punches with only a slight step to the left.
GGG’s weaving perfectly compliments his wide, looping punches.
Golovkin uses the weight of his body to propel his fists forward, letting his hand lag behind until the last possible second. His upper body movement protects his head by taking it off line and builds momentum for his strike.
Although many of Golovkin’s punches are loaded up behind him and travel in a near full circle by completion, they land as tight, well structured shots.
The curving load up gives the added benefit of making GGG’s punches highly unpredictable, with many changing from angular to linear, or corkscrewing at the last second.
From the Modern Martial Artist, this has been David Christian, wishing you, happy training.
Books by David Christian of The Modern Martial Artist
Power of the Pros: https://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/power-of-the-pros/
Footwork Wins Fights: https://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/footwork-wins-fights/
Everything Boxing, Kickingboxing & MMA
Podcast: https://www.modernmartialartist.com/category/striking-thoughts/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/themodernmartialartist
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/modernmartialartist
Leave a Reply