By Jake Donovan
As far back as he can remember, Gennady Golovkin always wanted to be a gangster.
OK maybe not, but the unbeaten knockout artist from Kazakhstan continues to strive for superstardom in the United States. Since his HBO debut three years ago, Golovkin has quickly emerged among the network’s biggest draws, to where it’s becoming increasingly more expensive to find other middleweights willing to step to him.
With that comes his first Pay-Per-View headliner, as Golovkin and David Lemieux collide in a middleweight title unification bout October 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“Pay-Per-View to me means reaching the highest level in the sport,” Golovkin (33-0, 30KOs) said of his next adventure. “This has given me the opportunity for my first title unification fight. All the big names in boxing have fought on Pay-Per-View and I look forward to making my first Pay-Per-View on October 17 against champion David Lemieux.”
Golovkin’s team has taken his career to this stage after seven appearances on HBO’s flagship station dating back to Sept. ’12. His primetime ratings have been on the rise, save for last summer’s three-round destruction of Daniel Geale. A four-week gap between HBO’s previous boxing telecast and Golovkin-Geale denied the latter the benefit of sufficient buildup, though he has since risen to must-see status every time he steps into the ring.
As he continues to develop as a draw, Golovkin also wants to establish himself as the middleweight to beat. He is currently regarded as the best 160 lb. fighter on the planet—14 title defenses and 20 consecutive knockouts will have that effect.
However, the division’s lineal championship is held by Miguel Cotto, who next faces Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on November 21. The idea is to match the winners in a head-on collision at some point next year - the sooner the better, as far as Golovkin is concerned. Not only does he want to fight the best, but also to satisfy the demand of his growing fan base.
“I appreciate the support of my fans and I look forward to putting on another amazing show for them,” Golovkin states. “Since I started fighting in the United States and on HBO three years ago my exposure has increased dramatically and I’m happy with my career. I want the biggest fights against the top names in the middleweight division and that means Pay-Per-View.”
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
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@JakeNDaBox
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