rudee
05-20-2015, 12:26 AM
When boxers step into the ring to face WBA middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin, they almost never make it to the final bell.
Golovkin (33-0 with 30 KOs) recorded his 20th-straight knockout Saturday, stopping Willie Monroe Jr. in the sixth round. The 33-year-old from Kazakhstan is arguably the second-best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, behind only Floyd Mayweather. Unlike the boring and defensive-minded Mayweather, however, Golovkin’s penchant for knockouts has made him one of the most exciting fighters to watch.
Known as one of boxing's most powerful fighters, Golovkin owns the highest knockout percentage in middleweight title history at nearly 91 percent.
Your browser does not support the video tag. HBO
He throws, on average, 17 power punches per round — five more than the average boxer.
Your browser does not support the video tag. HBO
As reactions to Mayweather-Pacquiao showed, people seem to prefer an aggressive hard-hitting fighter rather than a tactical one.
Golovkin’s recent fight against Monroe drew 12,000 fans and drew a decent 1.3 rating on HBO. While the boxing world can’t get enough of “GGG,” the rest of the fighters in the middleweight division don’t want any part of him.
The biggest, and really only, criticism against Golovkin has has been the poor level of competition he’s faced. He knows this, and told ESPN’s Dan Rafael he's been clamoring for a big-time pay-per-view fight against either Miguel Cotto or Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the two worthy fighters in his weight class.
"Canelo? Not the future — right now I am ready for the big fights. Miguel and Canelo. Right now. Not in the future. I am ready for the big fights right now. The next show."
The boxing world, however, shouldn’t hold its breath. Cotto is scheduled to fight Danny Geale June 6, and is then expected to fight Alvarez in the fall. Even if the winner of Cotto-Alvarez agreed to fight Golovkin, it wouldn't happen until late-spring of 2016 at the earliest.
Trainer Robert Garcia is even more pessimistic, telling Fighthype he doubts a fight with Cotto will ever materialize, and any fight with Alvarez won’t happen for at least a few years.
“He’s got power, he’s got tremendous power. Cotto is business, and smart. I don’t think he’d do the fight [against Golovkin]. I think Canelo will do it in a couple of fights, in a couple of years.”
Until then, Golovkin will continue to fight anyone who’s willing to face him. While the weak opponents may deter some, Tom Loeffler, the managing director of Golovkin’s promoter K2 Promotions, told Rafael he doesn't believe it won’t hinder Golovkin in any serious manner.
“We will keep doing what we are doing while we try to get a big one. People love to come out and come to see him fight regardless of who he fights. People just want to see him in the ring because he is so exciting.”
While Golovkin can continue to draw crowds of 10,000 plus people, the real money is in pay-per-view. But, at 33-years old and without a prime pay-per-view worthy fighter willing to face him, Golovkin may never even have an opportunity to cash in.
Golovkin (33-0 with 30 KOs) recorded his 20th-straight knockout Saturday, stopping Willie Monroe Jr. in the sixth round. The 33-year-old from Kazakhstan is arguably the second-best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, behind only Floyd Mayweather. Unlike the boring and defensive-minded Mayweather, however, Golovkin’s penchant for knockouts has made him one of the most exciting fighters to watch.
Known as one of boxing's most powerful fighters, Golovkin owns the highest knockout percentage in middleweight title history at nearly 91 percent.
Your browser does not support the video tag. HBO
He throws, on average, 17 power punches per round — five more than the average boxer.
Your browser does not support the video tag. HBO
As reactions to Mayweather-Pacquiao showed, people seem to prefer an aggressive hard-hitting fighter rather than a tactical one.
Golovkin’s recent fight against Monroe drew 12,000 fans and drew a decent 1.3 rating on HBO. While the boxing world can’t get enough of “GGG,” the rest of the fighters in the middleweight division don’t want any part of him.
The biggest, and really only, criticism against Golovkin has has been the poor level of competition he’s faced. He knows this, and told ESPN’s Dan Rafael he's been clamoring for a big-time pay-per-view fight against either Miguel Cotto or Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the two worthy fighters in his weight class.
"Canelo? Not the future — right now I am ready for the big fights. Miguel and Canelo. Right now. Not in the future. I am ready for the big fights right now. The next show."
The boxing world, however, shouldn’t hold its breath. Cotto is scheduled to fight Danny Geale June 6, and is then expected to fight Alvarez in the fall. Even if the winner of Cotto-Alvarez agreed to fight Golovkin, it wouldn't happen until late-spring of 2016 at the earliest.
Trainer Robert Garcia is even more pessimistic, telling Fighthype he doubts a fight with Cotto will ever materialize, and any fight with Alvarez won’t happen for at least a few years.
“He’s got power, he’s got tremendous power. Cotto is business, and smart. I don’t think he’d do the fight [against Golovkin]. I think Canelo will do it in a couple of fights, in a couple of years.”
Until then, Golovkin will continue to fight anyone who’s willing to face him. While the weak opponents may deter some, Tom Loeffler, the managing director of Golovkin’s promoter K2 Promotions, told Rafael he doesn't believe it won’t hinder Golovkin in any serious manner.
“We will keep doing what we are doing while we try to get a big one. People love to come out and come to see him fight regardless of who he fights. People just want to see him in the ring because he is so exciting.”
While Golovkin can continue to draw crowds of 10,000 plus people, the real money is in pay-per-view. But, at 33-years old and without a prime pay-per-view worthy fighter willing to face him, Golovkin may never even have an opportunity to cash in.