Controversy spurs in the boxing world as Gennady Golovkin slipped a unanimous decision victory over younger Sergiy Derevyanchenko. The judges scored the bout 115-112, 115-112, and 114-113.
Although it was a close fight, many boxing fans believed that GGG deserved to fall. In fact, the Madison Square Garden fans booed Golovkin during his post-fight interview.
Coming into the match, Derevyanchenko knew that if this went all the way, it would not look good for him winning, he was fighting against DAZN’s top-rated fighter, after all. IF GGG lost, DAZN would lose tons of money, so they would try to protect Golovkin as much as possible.
Whether or not Derevyanchenko deserved to win, Derevyanchenko showed high aggressiveness, punch placement and volume, and stamina.
Aggressiveness
In the match, Derevyanchenko came in with one gameplan- attack Golovkin’s weaknesses. Golovkin struggles to stay aggressive and on the attack, especially at 37 years old.
The gameplan for Derevyanchenko was to keep moving and be the aggressor. He needed to attack GGG and force him to the ropes and corners. Also, Derevyanchenko had to work the body. GGG can withstand punches 99% of boxers cannot handle. So, the body is the best chance to wear down the veteran boxer and force him to slow down his punch output.
In this clip, Derevyanchenko attacks GGG, putting onto his back foot. Derevyanchenko squared up with GGG and loaded left hooks under GGG’s arms.
The volume puncher did not have the power to knock out Golovkin, but he extends his back foot and places all the weight on his front leg. His speed and placement of the punches kept GGG from continuing to throw power.
GGG throws his power punches from a closed position. He refuses space and looks for timing his opponents’ dodges. His timing works hand in hand with his overhead hooks.
However, Derevyanchenko did the complete opposite. He created space and was able to use feints, jabs, and more prolonged attacks with combos to keep GGG away from him.
In the clip, Derevyanchenko jabs keep GGG from jumping in, or else he will be vulnerable. Derevyanchenko pushed for space too and forced GGG to not clinch up.
Punch Placement and Volume
Derevyanchenko edged Golovkin in power punches landed, 183-136. He also proved to have the most punches landed on GGG with 230 total.
Once again, all of the punch success came from the volume punching and body shots. In the clip, Derevyanchenko throws about 30 punches to Golovkin’s two. The multiple combos force GGG to ball up and block the several punches.
The total punches will not knock out Golovkin, but the volume made Derevyanchenko supposedly win the round. With GGG slowing down and trying to survive, Derevyanchenko’s volume kept GGG from breathing and relaxing.
Against a power puncher, boxers cannot square up unless they are on the attack. So, Derevyanchenko takes angles to open up kidney shots and worked the body perfectly. The side step and feints opened the angles and allowed Dereyanchenko to slide side to side with limited punches flying back.
Derevyanchenko’s dips fit with the system too. His dip dropped his level and opened uppercuts to the body. It also slipped some shots through the blocks to the face. The dips also avoided GGG’s straight rights and left hooks off of the jabs.
The punch volume and placement tired the 37-year old out.
Stamina
Lastly, Derevyanchenko showed great poise and stamina through 12 rounds. Although a slow start to the bout, he was able to fire at the same punch output consistently.
At the end of the twelfth round, GGG was out of energy. Derevyanchenko tried to throw knockout combos, but GGG stalled his way out with clinching. The controversial finish came with a mediocre final twenty seconds for the champ, but not Derevyanchenko.
Final Verdict
Whether Dervyanchenko deserved to win the fight or not, Derevyanchenko showed many upsides. He may still be well known among less serious boxing fans, this step up to the top gave boxing fans and his future opponents something to watch out for.
His magnificent angles lead to multiple combos. Those combos lead to volume punches. The volume punches lead to success.
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