Golovkin: I'm Not Pound For Pound No. 1, Spot is 'Vacant'

By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Gennady Golovkin doesn’t think he or any other boxer has earned the top spot on pound-for-pound lists now that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has retired.

When asked if he should be considered the best boxer in the world, Golovkin said, “No, I don’t feel now. No. Why? Because there are a lot of great champions. New stars. New prospects. And great champions. Right now, first place is vacant. Maybe in the future. This is my first step for first place, I hope, in the future. I don’t feel now [that I am No. 1].”

The 33-year-old Golovkin has knocked out 91 percent of his professional opponents and won 20 straight bouts by knockout or technical knockout since November 2008. Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs) also has made 14 consecutive defenses of the WBA middleweight title entering his 160-pound championship unification fight against Montreal’s David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT; HBO Pay-Per-View; $49.99-$59.99 in HD).

Even Golovkin acknowledges, though, that he needs to add a few more noteworthy wins to his record to warrant justifiable consideration as the best boxer in the sport.

BoxingScene.com and The Ring magazine are among the outlets that rank Golovkin No. 5 on pound-for-pound lists. Espn.com ranks Golovkin No. 2 on its list, behind only unbeaten WBC flyweight champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (43-0, 37 KOs).

Golovkin doesn’t consider Nicaragua’s Gonzalez or undisputed heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-3, 53 KOs), whose company promotes Golovkin, the pound-for-pound king, either.

“It’s a good question,” Golovkin said when asked who he thinks should be No. 1. “I don’t know. For me, it’s vacant. Nobody is in first place. Canelo, he’s a good prospect, but he has lost. Cotto, maybe he’s old, you know? Chocolatito is a very good prospect. Gonzalez, you know? It’s a very difficult question. Not Wladimir Klitschko.

“I think I need maybe just one year. Why? Maybe a couple great champions come back. … I need time, too. I need time. I need fights. I must show my fans, just everybody. My first step is with David. My focus is on David Lemieux. My second step, I don’t know, maybe Cotto, Canelo. Right now it’s a very interesting situation in the middleweight division. Andy Lee with [Billy Joe] Saunders. [Peter] Quillin with [Daniel] Jacobs.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.