April 20--The great thing about a boxing gym like trainer Abel Sanchez's Summit in Big Bear is the surprise provided by the various stories of those performing their sweat labor.
Take the example of Darnell Boone, a journeyman with a 23-23-4 record who has fought both unbeaten former super-middleweight champion Andre Ward and unbeaten light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and is now serving as a sparring partner to unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
You want the truest assessment of three of the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world? I doubt you can do better than Boone.
Golovkin (34-0, 31 knockouts), the Kazakhstan fighter who has made Los Angeles his home, will defend his World Boxing Assn. and International Boxing Federation belts on HBO against Dominic Wade (18-0, 12 KOs) Saturday at the Forum. Golovkin takes a 21-fight knockout streak to the bout.
Meanwhile, after Ward and Kovalev are expected to take on one more summer tune-up fight each, they've signed to meet each other in a late-fall light-heavyweight title bout.
"Triple-G beats Ward and Kovalev," Boone said, referring to Golovkin by his popular nickname. "Ward has better boxing skills, but with the power, it's Gennady. What separates him is he trains so hard. To see him work out and spar, he's a different fighter, never wastes shots, never gets overzealous."
Boone said coming to Big Bear for another camp has shown him why Golovkin, 34, thrives in the atmosphere under Sanchez, the 2015 Boxing Writers Assn. of America trainer of the year.
"No distractions, running in thin air, working hard -- it's all of it," Boone said.
Boone fought Ward in 2005, a six-round bout in which he knocked Ward down in the fourth round and lost by unanimous decision on scores of 59-55, 58-56 and 57-56.
For Ward, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist who hasn't lost a fight since age 12, it was the only time he's touched the canvas in his career. A contract dispute kept Ward out of the ring for an extended period, and he's fought just twice since November 2013, beating little-known Sullivan Barrera March 26 in Oakland.
Russia's Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs) beat Boone by second-round technical knockout in 2012, and he maintained his destructive path in January, forcing Jean Pascal to quit after seven rounds. Kovalev is expected to return to the ring in his home country this summer.
"I like Ward, but if he can't shake off the rust .... It looked like something was missing [in last month's fight]. He was flat-footed, he was breathing heavy. I don't know if it's the added weight or the layoff, but whatever, they've got to get it under control," Boone said.
"I think he needs two or three more fights before Kovalev. I'm keeping it 100. That fight this year? Dangerous. If Kovalev hits him with those shots he usually hits guys with, it could be an early night."
Golovkin and Ward had a verbal back-and-forth last year, with Ward taunting Golovkin by calling him "Little G," and alleging that Golovkin shied away from a fight date when communication provided by Golovkin's team disproved the claim.
Kovalev once trained under Sanchez, with Golovkin as his training partner.
Would Golovkin ever consider fighting Kovalev? "It's possible, maybe. This is a business question," he said last week.
Golovkin is a heavy favorite over Wade, and he has a deal in place with the World Boxing Council and WBC middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez stipulating that Alvarez has to either begin negotiations with Golovkin for a fight by May 22 should Alvarez beat Amir Khan on May 7, or the WBC belt goes to Golovkin.
If Alvarez balks, Golovkin could explore a fight at 168 pounds against Mexico's World Boxing Organization champion, Gilberto Ramirez.
"GGG is something special," Boone said. "I've been in the ring with everybody. He's a different fighter. No one can beat him at 160 or 168 ... and I think it's some B.S. [from Alvarez]. It's a 160-pound belt. Either fight him or give it up. It's a mockery. You want to be the best? Beat the best. Fight everybody.
"I might be 23-23, but that's what I do."
