EYE ON THE PRIZE
Golovkin ignores Conor jab as big bout nears
CONOR McGregor didn’t have nice things to say about Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin during the build-up to the Irishman’s boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather last Saturday in Las Vegas.
“I’m not really too much of a fan of either of those,” McGregor said after one of his media workouts. “I think Canelo is a little bit flat on his feet. When I watch footage of him, I just see him getting peppered. He has no feet under him. Golovkin, I think, came into this camp badly out of shape. I’m looking at his camp up at Big Bear and I just see a drained individual. Although they’re supposedly up there, I don’t really think they are.”
Mayweather scored a 10th-round technical knockout over McGregor last Saturday at T-Mobile Arena and now the combat spotlight turns to the Sept. 16 showdown in Las Vegas between Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) and Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) for boxing’s middleweight championship. Team Golovkin didn’t give much credence to McGregor’s cri- tique of the two fighters ranked near the top of boxing’s pound-for-pound list.
“He’s not a boxer,” Golovkin said.
His trainer, Abel Sanchez, was more direct: “I think you have to consider the source,” Sanchez said. “You’re talking about a guy that never had an amateur fight or been in the ring with an elite fighter commenting on something he knows nothing about.”
McGregor may not be a fan of Golovkin, but Golovkin remains a fan of McGregor, the UFC lightweight champion, and has nothing negative to say about May weatherMcGregor, which could gen- erate $700 million.
“We’re not negative about Conor McGregor,” said Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter with K2 Promotions. “Look at what he’s accomplished in the UFC. He’s the most marketable fighter that they’ve had. He’s shown tremendous heart in the fights that he’s had. But Gennady is a purist. He didn’t look at that as a true boxing match. Give him credit, Conor probably lasted longer in a boxing ring than Floyd would in the Octagon.”
The attitude of Team Golovkin is different than that of Alvarez’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions. De La Hoya was vocal about his disdain for Mayweather-McGregor and on the day of the fight sent a profane tweet accusing Mayweather and McGregor of “disrespecting the sport of boxing.”
Loeffler said he thinks Mayweather-McGregor might actually benefit Alvarez-Golovkin, which will be offered on HBO pay-perview in HD for $79.95. Those introduced to boxing for the first time last Saturday might want to see a more competitive bout. Hardcore fight fans already know it’s a can’t-miss event.
“We’re just working on capitalizing on that momentum,” Loeffler said. “The boxing fans realize this is the true fight, the true boxing match with the two best fighters in the middleweight division. That’s what the real boxing fan is looking forward to.”
Attendance for Mayweather-McGregor was 14,623, far less than the 20,000 that filled the T-Mobile Arena for Alvarez’s fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on May 6. AlvarezGolovkin was ruled a sellout in July. Still, it’s hard to predict how well it will do on pay-per-view. Alvarez became the first fighter in 15 years not named De La Hoya, Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao to do over 1 million buys when he earned a one-sided decision over Chavez.
A lot depends on whether Mayweather-McGregor helps or hurts. Loeffler said he is confident of huge interest.
“When you consider what Alvarez did against Chavez and the fan base Gennady brings, they complement each other perfectly,” Loeffler said.