A debate continues in Kazakhstan over who claims the GGG heavyweight title as the country’s most prominent first division puncher.
World Boxing News ran a previously published story about which Kazakh took the tag initially: Ivan Dychko.
The former Olympian has won twelve fights in a row by knockout in the weight class. He had spent less than seventeen minutes demolishing his opponents before going the ten round distance last time.
This latest victory, an away win over Kevin Nicolás Espindola, raised questions. However, the second fighter to hold the title is Zhan Kossobutskiy.
Because Zhan was taken six rounds much earlier in his career, many say he should take the crown.
heavyweight ggg
Dychko’s earlier feat had earned him the nickname from some fans. But since then, other Kazakh boxing enthusiasts, including some Golovkin fans, have declared that Kossobutskiy deserves the honor.
A 33-year-old southpaw striker from Kostanay, Kossobutskiy is the man they believe to be the biggest hitter of all the heavyweight stars from Kazakhstan.
He is set to win the world heavyweight championship by 2025. Major heavyweights like WBC ruler Tyson Fury and WBA, IBF and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk could see a changing of the guard in the coming years. .
Ranked above Dychko at number one, Kossobutskiy has stopped all but one of his eighteen opponents, the last of whom was the most impressive.
Zhan eliminated Deontay Wilder’s former foe Johann Duhaupas in five rounds. He also stopped Polish veteran Kamil Sokolowski, a notorious stickler for going the distance and giving emerging fighters trouble in his prime.
Sokolowski has fought 29 times as a professional, and Kossobutskiy became the third man to stop him with a final round finisher.
Going the distance with thugs like Lucas Browne, Nathan Gorman, David Price, Martin Bakole and others, only Dillian Whyte and Gorman himself could get the job done early.
Nick Webb, a man touted as a British champion, was one of six undefeated heavyweight stars previously beaten by Sokolowski.
Zhan Kossobutsky
So the fact that Kossobutskiy was able to finish him bodes well for a future rise to the top end of the weight division.
Joey Dawejko, who gave Anthony Joshua trouble in the match, was also eliminated in two rounds.
Seven of his wins have come in the first round, with a few more coming in the second. And only one man, Sokolowski, saw the seventh round going into the tenth.
It looks like Kazakhstan has a conveyor belt of oncoming hitters. With the top six of the eight registered professionals currently undefeated.
Between them, Dychko and Kossobutskiy have 30 wins and 28 stoppages. But as WBN has been reported, Kossobutskiy is seen as the better heavyweight of the duo.
He is the contender who could have the most significant impact, the fastest at the upper limit. With an average weight of 235 pounds, around 106 kg, Zhan could drop to bridgeweight if he wanted to.
However, cruiserweight would be going too far.
A win over Guido Vianello when an amateur boxer doesn’t tell us the whole story either from a 12-4 record.
Also, the proof will be in the future pudding. Another GGG, though? – There may only be one of those.
Golovkin returns this weekend in his trilogy fight with Canelo Alvarez.
WBN editor Phil Jay has over ten years of boxing news experience. He follows WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
