ATLANTA-BASED 36-year-old light-heavyweight Darnell Boone, 23-23-4 (12), has been helping Gennady Golovkin prepare for his WBA and IBF middleweight title defence against Dominic Wade this Saturday (April 23) in Inglewood, California. Here, Boone offers a detailed preview and prediction of the fight.

The fight between Gennady Golovkin and Dominic Wade is an interesting matchup because of the styles that both fighters bring to the table.

Wade is very different from the other opponents that Golovkin has faced – he’s a very talented boxer-puncher with a lot of heart. His ability to box and move, as well as punch with speed and power, can cause some difficulty for Golovkin.

For Wade to be successful, he needs to frustrate Golovkin by keeping him on the end of his jab and giving him a lot angles, which is something previous Golovkin challengers have been unable to do. If he lets his heart get in the way after getting tagged and tries to stand there and slug it out with Golovkin, the fight will end shortly after.

Golovkin, as everyone knows, is a very strong puncher with both hands. He’s very economical with his movement and doesn’t waste any punches, because he’s very precise in what he’s throwing, and where he’s throwing it.

I see the fight starting off with a very cautious Wade trying to set the tempo with his jab and movement, as Golovkin looks to drop his bombs early on to let Wade know he’s in the big leagues.

“As the rounds go by, Wade will have more success and may win a few of the exchanges when they trade because of his superior handspeed and movement.

Eventually, you’ll see Golovkin show everyone why he’s among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He’ll cut off the ring and start catching Wade with his bombs to the head and body. As I mentioned earlier, Wade has a big heart and that trait will prove his downfall, as he’ll look to stand there and fight, and nobody wins a firefight against Golovkin. Look for the end to come in either round five or six, with Golovkin stopping Wade.

As talented as Wade may be, I think this fight was made too early in his career, but I do understand with everything at stake, why he took the fight. I’m sure he’s trained harder than he’s ever trained in his career, but I’ve been with Golovkin in training camp and have never seen anybody work as hard as he does. The man is an absolute monster when he trains, and as you can see, it pays off when the lights and cameras come on.”