By Corey Erdman
Let's face it, there isn't exactly a sprawling lineup of fighters hoping to face Gennady Golovkin in the near future.
Golovkin might have shortened that line even more with his two round destruction of Dominic Wade over the weekend in Los Angeles. There might be no middleweight in the past decade who has garnered the kind of buzz GGG is enjoying right now.
But there is one other middleweight collecting fanfare—albeit on a much smaller scale—who says he's willing to step up and face Golovkin.
Avtandil Khurtsidze burst onto the American scene earlier this year with a scintillating stoppage victory over top prospect Antoine Douglas on Showtime. The fight may very well be the leading candidate for Fight of the Year at the moment, and could garner some Upset of the Year chatter as well, considering Khurtsidze took the fight on a few weeks notice.
"My guy wants to fight Golovkin. That's been his dream since I signed him,” said promoter Lou DiBella.
DiBella said he signed Khurtsidze after watching his bout against Hassan N'Dam in 2010, which itself was a Fight of the Year contender as well. Despite the clerical headaches that loomed with Khurtsidze's messy promotional and managerial situation at the time, DiBella saw a fighter made for television.
Anyone who watched the 36-year old's ambush of Douglas will fondly remember his reckless pressure fighting style, and otherworldly tempo. They likely also remember a classic mic-in-corner moment, when Khurtsidze's trainer motivated him by yelling “Mike Tyson, baby! Mike Tyson!”, before kissing him on the forehead and sending him out to finish off his opponent.
"I consider Golovkin one of the pound for pound best. But my guy would make a much better fight than anyone Golovkin has fought in recent years,” said DiBella. “He really has that Little Tyson kind of mentality. His idol is Mike Tyson. Anyone who wants to fight like Mike Tyson, and is as strong as he is, he's going to make for good television.”
As fun as the idea of a matchup with Golovkin sounds—however competitive it would be notwithstanding—it may be nothing more than a pipe dream at the moment. Like countless other fights, some of which with even more demand, the political divide that exists in the boxing landscape simply won't allow for it to happen.
DiBella says that despite his long history with HBO, that the network never calls him, ostensibly due to his affiliation with the rival Premier Boxing Champions.
"I don't know why I'm persona non-grata. Someone's going to have to explain that to me,” said DiBella.
Khurtsidze could have a tough task ahead of him already on June 11, when the stocky battler is rumored to be taking on Willie Monroe Jr. at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY. If he can be successful, or if it falls through entirely, both fighter and promoter are more than happy to move on to any Plan B available to them.
“I've always believed that Avtandil would frankly beat a Lemieux, and would beat a Dominic Wade, and would beat a majority of ranked contenders. He's one of those guys that's as strong as an ox,” said DiBella.