Could Golovkin be next big thing ?
“He wants to put on a show and give people the entertainment they are looking for.” Promoter Tom Loeffler, on Gennady Golovkin
Gennady Golovkin speaks pretty good English, but the way he describes his boxing style — “big drama show” — loses a little in translation.
What the WBA and IBO middleweight world champion from Kazakhstan really means to say is that he is going to try to smash his next opponent, No. 2-ranked contender Willie Monroe Jr., into unconsciousness.
Golovkin, 33, has knocked out his last 19 rivals, is 32-0 and provides the kind of ferocious action the mainstream public craved dearly but never got during the so-called “fight of the century” between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao on May 2.
“Maybe Gennady is too good for his own good,” said his trainer, Abel Sanchez.
If Mayweather’s ultra-effective methodology is hit-and-dodge, you can fairly say Golovkin’s is hit-and-be-dodged. Despite being ranked No. 2 on several poundfor-pound lists, he might be the most avoided man in the sport, thanks to the force behind his clubbing fists.
“The way he fights is a conscious decision,” said his promoter, Tom Loeffler. “He wants to win and he is very good at it, but he wants to put on a show and give people the entertainment they are looking for.
“He understands that if he does that, then it benefits his own career and it benefits boxing.”
The last time Golovkin was taken the distance was in an eight-round bout in 2008, two years after turning pro. His most recent foe was gutsy Englishman Martin Murray, who absorbed severe punishment before the fight was stopped in the 11th round.
And while many boxing fans would love to see him face Mayweather — Golovkin has said he could come down to 154 pounds — he presents too much of a threat for “Money” to risk his legacy or unbeaten record.
Assuming the challenge of tricky southpaw Monroe (19-1) at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday is overcome, in a bout televised on HBO, thoughts will next turn to Canelo Alvarez or Miguel Cotto, both legitimate, high-profile options.
Alvarez cut down James Kirkland in a thrilling three-rounder last weekend, while Cotto remains a strong name and a serious force at middleweight.
Despite the claims of Golovkin’s people that he is enough of a draw on his own, with a sellout likely Saturday, he needs a highprofile win on his résumé to convince the boxing public that he is the man to take the sport forward once Mayweather and Pacquiao hang up their gloves.
“I want to be able to beat anyone,” Golovkin said recently. “I want to make the big fights, and my style is always aggressive. I like a show, a big drama show.”
Golovkin has a chance to maneuver himself into position to be one of the faces of a new movement in boxing, one in which the sport’s health is not contingent on having a single megastar who commands the majority of the money flowing in. (Yes, that would be Mayweather.)
Mayweather has been wildly successful at padding his bank balance, yet for all the astronomical figures accrued for the Pacquiao fight, boxing ’s overall popularity has dropped during the 38-year-old’s reign.
A fresh situation could arise in which a collection of fighters, including Golovkin, Alvarez and possibly Saturday’s co-featured flyweight, Roman Gonzalez of Nicaragua, share top billing. That would mean fewer “fights of the century,” but more regular legitimate top-drawer bouts involving the pound-for-pound hierarchy.
For boxing, after years of struggle, that should be a true knockout win.