Bearing from Kazakhstan, and being kept under the shadow of other high-profile fighters, people may be forgiven for not fully grasping the qualities and late potential of reigning WBA and IBO middleweight champion Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin.
Although, when this middleweight monster enters the ring for his clash with Willie Monroe Jr, the constantly overlooked 33-year-old will be incredibly gunning for his 20th consecutive professional stoppage victory (13/8 to win in rounds 4-6 with Coral), as 13k boxing fans fill up the Forum in Los Angeles.
Recently, the sport was catapulted into the global spotlight, when Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally came toe-to-toe with each other in the most eagerly anticipated bout for decades, but the outcome left a sour reminder that money and constant hype do not guarantee thrills and entertainment.
Step forward GGG, the ferocious ‘God of War’ who has built a genuinely strong fanbase in America and, considering he was virtually unknown three years ago during his third WBA middleweight world title defence, has remarkably endeared himself to a host of true lovers of the sport.
It is clear that Kazakh bruiser Golovkin has the capabilities to test absolutely anyone that confronts him and, having sensationally stormed to an unwavered career record of 32-0, including 29 knock-outs, his search for a more competitive opponent is likely to continue, with no disrespect to Monroe (16/1 to triumph).
“I think it’s a little different for me because Monroe has a different style. He is a southpaw. It’s very interesting for me. He has good speed and is a good mover,” said Golovkin.
“Remember, everybody who is a good boxer has a problem with southpaws. Canelo [Alvarez] did and [Miguel] Cotto had problems with [Austin] Trout. This is a new style and a new situation for me. I want to beat any style. This is a new step for me.”
The unbeaten world champion has become one of the most talked-about fighters worldwide, mainly because of his incredible 90% knock-out rate, the highest stoppage percentage in middleweight championship history.
Golovkin has stated that he would be prepared to meet Mayweather at light-middleweight, while recently victorious Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is also tipped as a possible future opponent, but a potential fight with Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto is mouth-watering, and would officially determine the world’s best middleweight.
Fan favourite Golovkin has continuously been overlooked and disregarded when it comes to high-grossing bouts and all-star match-ups, with the extremely-driven undefeated middleweight having so far been denied a career-defining ring encounter.
As arguably the best middleweight in the world, and one of the sport’s pound-for-pound greats, Golovkin’s deadly reputation and beastly attacking talents have had an ironically negative effect on his career, finding it difficult to seek out worthy opponents willing to face him.
Unsung southpaw Monroe will be the next man to try and tame the 2004 Olympic Silver medallist, but he faces a mammoth task, with ‘Triple G’s’ last 19 fights being ended prematurely, though, the New York-born bruiser is 25/1 to secure an unlikely points victory.
Golovkin will undoubtedly make another early attacking onslaught, with 10 of his previous 11 bouts being halted before reaching the 10th round (8/1 for KO in rounds 10-12), but Britain’s Martin Murray gives Monroe slender hope after he managed to make it to the 11th before losing via TKO in February.
