Murat Gassiev opens up about sparring Gennadiy Golovkin and what the icon’s secret to success really was

EXCLUSIVE: Murat Gassiev has given an insight into what training with Gennadiy Golovkin was actually like.

The monstrous puncher, who spent years working alongside one of the greatest middleweights of all time, is just a day away from one of the biggest fights of his career — a clash with Kubrat Pulev for the WBA (Regular) heavyweight championship, at IBA Pro Fight Night 13, inside the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium in the UAE.

Murat Gassiev was blown away by Gennadiy Golovkin

Blessed with thunderous power, it only made sense that Murat Gassiev made the move to Big Bear, California, USA, in 2015, to train alongside an equally heavy hitter in Gennadiy Golovkin with Abel Sanchez.

During his career, the former unified cruiserweight champion has gone toe-to-toe with many a talented boxer in sparring. However, it was the Kazakh who left the most significant impact.

In an exclusive interview with Sporf, he explained: “I have sparred with Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder, Chris Arreola — strong fighters. I have seen how ‘Triple G’ trains. I spent time with him in training camps many times. He helped me a lot. He works hard, and it was a good experience for me to be around this champion. I took a lot of things from him.”

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Having achieved so much, Golovkin has cemented his status as an icon of the sport. However, according to Gassiev, it wasn’t his freakish power or ferocious mentality that was the secret to his success, but his diet.

The powerhouse laughed: “Gennadiy sometimes brings horse meat to training camp. This is something special. This meat gives power.”

Murat Gassiev on the key to beating Kubrat Pulev

Tomorrow night, the warrior will attempt to become a two-weight world champion when he goes to war with Pulev, live on DAZN.

The Bulgarian, who excelled as an amateur, is renowned for his tremendous skills, meaning Gassiev needs to do something special to rip the title holder’s belt away.

The challenger stated: “I have a very tough opponent. He’s had a lot of fights and he’s very strong. I need to do my best. I must throw left hooks, right hooks, combinations. I need to use all my punches against Kubrat.”

And if the 32-year-old wins, IBA promoter, Al Siesta, claims Oleksandr Usyk vs Murat Gassiev 2 could be on the horizon.

Featured Image Credit: IBA/ESPN