For better or worse, boxing in America is a culture bred of the beautiful brutality of the knockout. It doesn’t matter much how deficient you are in other areas of the Sweet Science – if you have power and left a few bodies in your wake, someone will see to it that you get an opportunity at the big time. Enter Kazakhstan-born Gennady Golovkin, who’s become a sensation on the internet and amongst boxing writers after his September HBO debut and five-round razing of Grzegorz Proksa.
Although that was the second defense of Golovkin’s WBA middleweight title, we’ve seen this story before with aggressive power punchers getting overhyped and subsequently destroyed. Remember Jeff Lacy’s run until the Omar Sheika fight and then his ruin at the hands of Joe Calzaghe? Can you recall the hype around James Kirkland until he got bounced off the canvas by Nobuhiro Ishida? That’s not to say that Golovkin hasn’t been trying to prove his worth. For one reason or another, the past 12-18 months have seen potential fights against Sergio Martinez, Dmitry Pirog and Felix Sturm get turned down or canceled.
With that said, the man Golovkin faces this Saturday on HBO is Gabriel “King” Rosado, who’s currently on a seven-fight win streak dating back to 2010 with stoppage wins over names like Jesus Soto Karass and Sechew Powell. Can Rosado be the one who tempers or completely halts the Golovkin hype? In his own words, Gennady Golovkin explains why he is the one that will bring the excitement and drama that boxing fans love.
[Writer’s Note: Golovkin is not a native English speaker, resulting in some of his answers being in broken form and syntax. For authenticity’s sake, his words remain here unaltered.]
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: How has training been for you these last few months in the United States?
Golovkin: I train hard every day with my sparring partners. I feel great right now. This will be a great fight.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: There are rumors going around that Gabriel Rosado is betting his whole purse that he’ll beat you [Writer’s Note: Rosado’s team declined to comment for this story.]. He is on record saying he won’t run and plans to dominate you. Does that surprise you since he’s smaller than you?
Golovkin: Maybe, maybe… probably. Rosado? He doesn’t want to run from me? Why not?! Yes! I’m here, let’s get it on. He’s a strong man. I’m a strong man. I’m ready.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: A lot of fans seem to like you in America because you don’t have the typical “European style” of fighting. But what do you define as the “American style” of boxing?
Golovkin: Uh, y’know I like American style because American people like power and a hard punch. It’s much aggressive. I like that style. American people want drama and the knockout. Europe, not as much. I have what they want.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Where is your best weight between 154-168?
Golovkin: No, I feel great! After sparring I lost weight and I’m 152 pounds. So 154 to middleweight is fine. Right now this is perfect for me. I like middleweight; I am fit and small for a middleweight. Maybe, probably next one is 154 or maybe 158.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: When people criticize you, they point to the Kassim Ouma fight as proof. You knocked him out, but had some issues. What was the problem?
Golovkin: That fight was different. We fought, not boxing, but street fighting. That’s fine. After five rounds I knew I had him. It was a great fight for me and [my] career. I don’t know why so tough before, maybe [Ouma’s] southpaw.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Who are your favorite fighters to watch, past and present?
Golovkin: Oh y’know I like old-time fighters. My favorite is Sugar Ray Robinson. And right now, too? Ohh, Floyd [Mayweather] and [Manny] Pacquiao. I like [Nonito] Donaire style. He’s good. Favorite in the world right now… Pacquiao.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: What were the biggest cultural changes coming to America from Germany and Kazakhstan?
Golovkin: Yeah, American style… people are great. There is so much…different words and foods. I love Madison Square Garden!
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: [Laughs] Thank you very much for your time, Gennady. Any closing thoughts?
Golovkin: I thank my fans. Great fight, thanks to HBO. Yes, I’m ready. Yeah, it’ll be a great fight. I appreciate it, yeah, thanks so much.
ORLANDO “Siri” SALIDO will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight title against undefeated No. 1 contender MIKEY GARCIA; undefeated World Boxing Association (WBA) / International Boxing Organization (IBO) middleweight champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN will look to extend his reign into its third year against world-rated contender “King” GABRIEL ROSADO; and two-time WBO junior lightweight champion ROMAN “Rocky” MARTINEZ will put it all on the line when he goes mano a mano with No. 1 contender JUAN CARLOS “Mini” BURGOS. All three fights will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, Saturday, January 19, beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT.
Promoted by Top Rank® and K2 Promotions, in association with Tecate and Madison Square Garden, remaining tickets, priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, are currently available for purchase at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com.
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