Gennady Golovkin has swiftly gone from being boxing’s most avoided fighter to one of the sport’s biggest names, with the dominant unified middleweight champion seeking another destructive year, beginning with a showdown with Dominic Wade on April 23rd.
The Kazakhstan bulldozer has quickly become an adored fighter, with his rampant run of knockouts, which is the highest in the middleweight division history, and out-of-ring charm capturing the eye of boxing fans worldwide.
Of course, it’s in the squared-circle that the 33-year-old wants to be regarded, and the next glimpse of ‘GGG’ in his relished scenario will fall later in April, with undefeated American Wade bravely stepping up to contest boxing’s most feared champion.
With ‘Triple G’s’ ultimate goal being to secure all the belts at 160 pounds, a weight class which he has reigned supreme, he will look to destroy his latest opponent at The Forum in California, and odds of 1/100 from Coral suggest he will do just that.
‘GGG’ targeting another successful stoppage
Of Golovkin’s 34 professional contests, 31 of the men who have come face-to-face with him have been knocked out, and the fighter rightfully dubbed ‘the God of War’ has stopped his last 21 consecutive bouts prematurely, adding to his supreme aura.
In Canadian hard-hitter David Lemieux, Golovkin was tipped to be facing his toughest foe to date, but the WBA Super, IBF, IBO and WBC interim title-holder halted the Montreal bruiser in eight rounds last October to further cement himself as the division’s leading light.
Next up is Washington’s Wade, who has compiled a respectable 18 victories so far in his career, with 12 coming by stoppage, but the 25-year-old faces arguably the most daunting task in boxing in trying to overcome ‘GGG’, a feat he is 16/1 to somehow achieve in April.
Golovkin’s next challenger to his many middleweight crowns comes into their bout on the back of a split decision victory over Australian Sam Soliman, the first non-American Wade has faced to date, but he will need to be at his absolute best to avoid becoming just another KO victim.
Devastating trend set to continue
Wade may not be the big name opponent that the boxing world wants to see contesting Golovkin, but the offloading of more than half the fight tickets in a matter of days highlights the Kazakh’s ever-growing popularity in this demanding sport.
For a fighter that was previously avoided by many top middleweights, ‘GGG’ is now rapidly becoming a more desired opponent, especially with his name drawing in a growing number of fans, which brings with it the big bucks.
In a sport which recently lost its long-standing star attraction of Floyd Mayweather Jr, though maybe just temporarily, there is still a void to be filled as the pound-for-pound king in the coming years, one which this crushing power puncher can potentially claim.
Golovkin will never play down the talents of his latest opponent out of genuine respect, a far-cry from the high-profile trash talk which was a constant theme with Mayweather and many others in the sport, but another notch on his long list of stoppages looks a likely outcome this year.
“I feel much better now. New Year, new fight,” stated ‘GGG’. “I’m very excited [for] April 23rd, because this is boxing. I respect Dominic Wade. He’s the undefeated mandatory challenger. It’s very serious. I have new emotions. I don’t know who’ll win. I’m not God. This is boxing guys.”
Canelo clash finally on horizon?
Another dominant showing for Kazakhstan’s finest is the immediate aim, though a typically rampant display in California may cause a negative effect on chances of finally colliding with fellow middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
The Mexican, who most-recently outpointed Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto last year, has regularly outlined a desire to meet Golovkin at a lower catchweight, a demand which the latter’s camp are unwilling to agree to as such a bout looks set to fall through.
Reports also suggested that Canelo was hoping to push back the fight two years in order to build it up to a bigger showcase event, but ‘GGG’ wants a deal struck as quickly as possible, recently stating: “I think it’s not legal. Two years? I feel great. I’m ready – not to wait two years. I want now.”
“This is like 50-50. Good and not good,” outlined Golovkin. “This is a business plan. I’m a boxer. I am not a business man. It’s good [if Khan beats Canelo] because he’s the new weight champion.
“But it’s bad because he’s small. He’s not a real middleweight champion. Anybody has a chance. To Amir, it’s a little bit better. 155, I think is better for him. Canelo is a great champion. He’s big and strong.”
A victory for Khan would in no way be good for ‘GGG’ though, with that unlikely outcome probably seeing a rematch ordered, meaning a further wait for Golovkin and another possible avoidance.
It’s clear Golden Boy are in no rush to thrust their young fiery headed superstar into the ring with Golovkin anytime soon, despite such a bout arguably set to be the biggest match-up since Mayweather’s meeting with Manny Pacquiao.
Though, if both fighters can come through their next outings unscathed and a weight verdict can finally be agreed, fans may get to witness the middleweight stars collide in 2016, or beyond.
Mayweather says ‘GGG’ is “easy work”
Under the guidance of esteemed coach Abel Sanchez, Golovkin has become a true middleweight monster, and has rubbished any talk of dropping down to a catchweight in order to take on Canelo in a unification scrap.
However, one man ‘GGG’ has admitted he would move down for is now-retired Mayweather, with the undefeated Kazakh previously stating he would think about going to light-middleweight for such a showdown.
Golovkin is, of course, a natural middleweight though and such a meeting is unlikely to ever happen if ‘Money’ was to return for a showcase 50th career fight, but Mayweather hinted that a ‘Pacman’ rematch would be more appealing.
“I can barely make 147, so how am I gonna fight at 160? Triple G, not being disrespectful, but he’s straight up and down, no special effects. That’s easy work,” declared Mayweather.
“With the Pacquiao fight, you know, 10 rounds to two, that was a blowout.”
Reigning unified middleweight champion Golovkin won’t be worrying about Mayweather’s comments though, with the emphatic Kazakh instead preparing for his latest challenge against Wade on April 23rd, when he will look to maintain his firm grasp as boxing’s most devastating figure.
