Recently I had the opportunity to speak with former IBO/WBA/ IBF middleweight champion, Daniel ‘Real Deal’ Geale. Geale has a professional record of 30-2, and has squared off with many of the top fighters in the middleweight division. In this interview Daniel speaks about his 2013 bout with Darren Barker and him coming up short in that match. Geale also gives his thoughts on the middleweight clash between Sergio Martinez and Miguel Cotto, as well as his thoughts on Floyd Mayweather and Mann Pacquiao. Here is what Daniel Geale had to say in part 2 of his interview.
Robert Brown: On the occasion of your fight against Darren Barker, you were on the wrong end of an extremely close decision this time. To me you didn’t seem to have the same work rate, it looked like you may have over trained, am I wrong?
Daniel Geale: Possibly, it’s something that I’ve talked about with my team a fair bit. We did push it extremely hard preparing for that fight. Whether we put too much in before hand, I’m not 100% sure but I know I was extremely fit and ready — I know it definitely wasn’t my best fight but I felt we had done enough to win that fight.
Like the first Mundine fight, it was one of those fights that I didn’t feel like I was beaten. I would have loved to have been able to avenge that, but unfortunately it looks like Darren’s retired, but we got some big fights ahead anyway.
Robert Brown: You had a chance to fight Golovkin earlier but you chose to take a rematch with Anthony Mundine instead. Did you see that fight as an opportunity to right a wrong? because Mundine wasn’t ranked inside the top 10 at the time.
Daniel Geale: Yeah it was pretty much the stage where the three of the WBA were getting pushed to have these fights. We said at that stage that we would have fought Golovkin but we weren’t gonna be pushed around and pushed into it.
It wasn’t the right timing for us and I guess the Mundine fight was definitely something that I had to do. It was one of those fights that people were talking about, there was a lot of controversy about it. I knew I’d improved even more since that first fight. I wanted to get in there and show Australia who I am now.
Robert Brown: Anthony Mundine has lost 2 of his last 4 fights — one being to you and the other being to Josh Clottey recently — and he seems to be determined to go on. Do you think he should go on or not?
Daniel Geale: To be honest, I said a couple of years ago that Mundine is sort of nearing the end, but the guy wants to continue on. I guess he believes he still has more left in him, but it can be dangerous staying in this sport for too long.
I can’t say whether a guy can or can’t or should retire. It’s not up to me to make that call, but if he believes he’s still got more left in the bag, if anything I would say, don’t go to junior middleweight, but that’s entirely up to him.
Robert Brown: There’s a huge fight in your division coming up, Sergio Martinez vs. Miguel Cotto. What are your thought on the fight and who will you be picking to win that fight?
Daniel Geale: I think it’s an interesting fight especially because Cotto is coming up and he is not a big guy — he’s a powerful guy, but he’s definitely not a big middleweight by any means, but neither is Martinez, so it makes an interesting fight.
The way I’d sort of pick it would be that Martinez would probably be a little bit too fast and evasive — but he has been out of the ring for a while as well. He’s probably gonna have a bit of ring rust there as well.
I think Cotto may give him some trouble but I’m not sure if he’s gonna be quick enough to give him too much trouble. I’d probably pick Martinez, I’d say it will probably go down to points but you never know.
Robert Brown: Floyd Mayweather recently had a very difficult fight against Marcos Maidana, his most difficult fight in a number of years. Do you think it was just Maidana’s style or do you think Floyd may be starting to slip a little bit?
Daniel Geale: Yeah I definitely think Maidana had a very unorthodox style and a very unorthodox way of doing things. It was good to see because normally when Mayweather steps into the ring with just about anybody he looks two or three steps above with his speed and anticipation and skills.
Mayweather tends to do it too easily, so it was good to see him do it hard and he had to dig deep and push himself in that fight. It was a good one to watch, and I know it wasn’t the greatest boxing exhibition, but it was good to see. Even the best can struggle sometimes.
Robert Brown: If Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather fought, who do you think would win that fight?
Daniel Geale: I’ve been a little bit up in the air over the years. I probably would have to say I’d be backing Floyd on that one. I’d like to see Pacquiao get it but I just think Mayweather’s speed and the way he controls a boxing ring — especially in that last fight under immense pressure — he was still able to pull it out in the end and do what he had to do to win the fight.
I think Pacquiao would have to either catch him with a very lucky surprise punch or otherwise I think Mayweather would probably be too quick and would outbox him.
Robert Brown: Is there anything you would like to say to all your fans out there?
Daniel Geale: Keep watching me, I got huge fights ahead. Hopefully if this Golovkin fight comes off, I can’t wait to bring some titles back home to Australia.
Your analysis is nothing relevant, Pacman destroyed Clottey and Clottey destroy Mundine. So Pacman will destroy you easily. So how come that the only way Pacman can win over Mayweather if he Pacman can land a very lucky punch. You just gave reason for Mayweather to duck Pacman as you make Mayweather happy that he will win without fighting Pacman because Mayweather is content with the people with perspective like you.
…geale’s assessment is totally non-sense, i dont think mayweather is faster than pacquiao, perhaps in running inside the ring floydie is!, manny is gifted with extraordinary handspeed and footwork coupled with devastating knock out power. floyd is afraid to fight him because he knows manny will come forward without backing up, it will be hell for mayweather!..
Nope, I’m a filipino and I box! He has a point, to me its the same theory, look at it. When it comes to speed, they’re about equal but, skills wise, they’re different but we know who has more defence and that is mayweather, he probably has the best defence in boxing right now. So, really without pacquaio being able to knock that defence? He’ll definitely be outbox thats for sure, he’ll need mo stamina than ever and more power to be able to that coz, he has never fought a guy who is equally as fast as him.
If fraud jr has the best defense and skills, then why does he have one-thousand-and-one stupid alibis not to fight Pacquiao? He is chicken plain and simple.When it comes to other fighters, Fraud Jr has no excuse not to fight at all? So stop giving your stupid thinking about Fraud Jr Vs Pacquiao!!!!
All your theory is false!! Mayweather is a master defensive fighter, and Pacquiao is the master offensive fighter. Just look at Madaina’s match, Manny can easily employ the same blue print but with deadly accuracy and much more devastating fashion. See Floyd is the best, but he is still unexperienced in recovering in tough fights that doesn’t go his way. Just look at last fight! would you see Manny complaining about a spec of blood on his right eye? Did you even hear, Manny make excuse of a bloody eye saying I couldn’t see. Mayweather just showed his weakness right there, he is unexperience in tough fight because he never had any in his entire career. If Mayweather last fight, was his first-time seeing his blood, then Manny will definitely shock him if they fight. He will be battered, bruise and bleed. No matter how good you are defensively, Offensive prowess will give you trouble. Case and point mandaina match. Mandaina was no where near as technical as Mayweather but he had problems. Can you even imagine if Mayweather fights the Hurricane from the Philippines, what do you think is on the back of Mayweather’s mind that stopping him from taking the fight with the biggest purse???
Lil floyd saw how Pac dominated Oscar, Hatton, Margarito, Cotto, Rios, Mosely and Bradley, also a dangerous Southpaw. His family has been drilling it into his little brain that Pac will bash him and so they ORDERED him to avoid Pac at all cost – Pweh!
ONE PUNCH IS ALL IT TAKES, LUCKY OR NOT , JUST ONE PUNCH. REMEMBER HATTON?
Mayweather is at his best when fighting someone slow and someone who doesn’t throw combinations. He can’t handle pacmans footwork ,speed , multiple power punches, his angles plus he’s a lefty. Pacman will be darting in and out all night long. Spadafora did that to him in sparring, if Floyd can’t handle it in sparring then he knows what can happen in a real fight.
Mayweather could not even dominate Maidana, Im sure the pacman will make Floyd like an ordinary boxer, little floyd is smart enough not to fight the pacman. Floyd is TBE. The Best Excuse… period.. shame on u floyd
It’s impossible for Mayweather to outbox Pacquiao. Floyd can only win if he KO Pacquiao.
So, wrong.
You guys, doesn’t understand how good Mayweather is.
You are wrong! we do! He is very good in cherry picking opponents, sucker punching, cheating on weights, committing domestic violence, beating women at nightclubs, beating ex-employees suspected of stealing his blings, envious of achieving asian athletes like jeremy Lin, good at self-proclaiming own greatness, fighting and backbiting old men like his father & Larry Merchant, hitting security guards at gated subdivisions, running away from a fight with Pacquiao, etc, etc, etc,> You be real !
Plain and simple Floyd is SCARED OF PACMAN BECA– USE OF MOMMY DIONISIA!
I Think this is the correct title for this column.
I think Mayweather would have to either catch him with a very lucky surprise punch or otherwise I think Pacquiao would probably be too quick and would outbox him.
if floyd fight pacman he will get more money than pacman! and he also get more heavy punches from pacman.