Golovkin ready to hit the jackpot in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS: Gennady Golovkin is undaunted by the challenge of fighting for the first time in Las Vegas and says defending his titles against Canelo Alvarez will be like going on a date with a “new girlfriend”.
Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs), who holds the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation middleweight belts, will face Mexico’s biggest boxing star Alvarez in a 12-round mega title fight on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena.
“It is like you are going with your new girlfriend, Oh yeah,” said the 35year-old from Kazakhstan, describing his excitement for the battle for middleweight supremacy.
Golovkin told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino that he will be ready for anything Alvarez throws at him.
“I bring my belts, all my belts. I feel like a champion. This is my game, this is my fight, I am boss.”
Nevertheless, Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, says the majority of the crowd on Saturday night will be cheering for Alvarez.
“I expect the crowd to be pro Canelo. It is more for Canelo right now,” Sanchez said. “People are picking Canelo. That even motivates him (Golovkin) more.”
Golovkin has waited a long time to get his first fight on boxing’s biggest stage in the United States. He has fought in 22 cities and seven different countries but never in Sin City.
“The biggest day is coming. This is a true fight, there is a lot of money coming,” Golovkin said.
Several years ago Golovkin had the younger Alvarez as one of his sparring partners at a training camp in Big Bear, California.
So there is some familiarity between the two, but Golovkin expects Alvarez to come into the fight with a few new wrinkles in his game plan.
“He might bring some new ideas to this fight. I am ready for anything,” Golovkin said. “I am ready to fight. It is a first class fight.”
Alvarez, who has only lost once in 51 fights (49-1-1), said he trained 10 weeks for this bout.
“I just want to say I am prepared. I know it is going to be a tough fight,” Alvarez said at the news conference.
Alvarez’s trainer Eddy Reynoso said their camp was a success and his fighter is in top condition.
“We had a great preparation, more than 14 years to prepare for this fight,” Reynoso said. “We had a great camp, no injuries, everything went well.”
Sanchez said the two fighters’ punching power will make for an exciting contest.
“We look for a dramatic fight, an explosive fight,” Sanchez said. “These two guys have the styles that are going to give us a fight we will remember for a long time.
“It is very special. This is where all the big fights happen. This is history and if the fight is as good as we think it is going to be then it will be remembered like the Hagler-Leonard fight.”
Sanchez says Golovkin lost some of his popularity after his last fight in March because he had to go the distance to beat Daniel Jacobs.
Asked why so many more people now think Alvarez will win than a year ago, Sanchez said, “because of the Jacobs fight.”
Golovkin skips birth to train for title fight
Golovkin is one of the most dedicated boxers in the world and even the birth of his daughter couldn’t pry him out of the gym.
The three-belt champion missed the birth on Friday because he was training for his upcoming world middleweight title fight.
Golovkin stayed in the gym for two hours after his wife, Alina, gave birth to the couple’s second child. They also have a son.
“He didn’t leave the gym until 6 pm,” Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez said. “The baby was born at 4 pm.
“His wife was in the hospital for one day. She came home next day so he was home with them.”