By Francisco Salazar

Gennady Golovkin is living the life, isn’t he?

He is a WBA/IBO world title holder, considered one of the most exciting fighters in boxing, has an exclusive contract with a major network, and a growing fan base.

It almost seems too easy for Golovkin. In his last fight on July 26, Golovkin hardly broke a sweat when he knocked out Daniel Geale in the third round inside the arena at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y.

While it may look easy for the popular Kazakh fighter to the diehard fight fan, it is the opposite in the mind of Golovkin.

And while there may be some in boxing who think Golovkin will have an easy time with Marco Antonio Rubio on Saturday night at the Stubhub Center in Carson, Calif., Golovkin is not overlooking Rubio. Not with so much on the line considering there are possible unification fights to be made and won.

The bout, along with the Nonito Donaire-Nicholas Walters featherweight bout, will air live on HBO at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT.

Is that what the boxing fan wants? The best fights that include the best fighters facing one another in a given weight class, right?

No showcase fights. No one-sided match-ups.

Fighting the best is what Golovkin wants and he got the best fighter available in Rubio. While there are those who believe Golovkin will have an easy time with the hard-hitting Mexican, Golovkin believes he is facing a worthy foe.

“I saw a lot of fights of Marco Antonio Rubio,” Golovkin told Boxingscene.com in a recent interview at the Summit Gym in Big Bear Lake, Calif. “He’s a good fighter and he’s not scared. He’s a good puncher and he’s smart. He’s a great fighter. He has Robert Garcia as a coach. I respect him. He has a lot of fights. I like his style. He’s from Mexico. He’s the first fighter from Mexico (that I’m fighting). This is a big test for me.”

While it could be a big test for Golovkin facing an equally-aggressive style in Rubio, he may have taken solid notes at the Summit Gym by having a teacher in trainer Abel Sanchez.

Having worked with numerous world champions in his own right, Sanchez has so far been in the perfect complement to Golovkin. While Golovkin has knockout power in either hand, Sanchez stresses ring generalship, putting punches together, and forcing an opponent to fight defensively, something Golovkin does extremely well.

Then again, Golovkin knows the fans like spectacular knockouts. It could be the reason his highlight-reel knockouts and his fighting style may be why thousands of Mexican and Mexican-American fight fans are becoming fans of his. Whatever the reason, Golovkin has embraced that fighting style and Sanchez’s knowledge.

“Abel Sanchez knows the Mexican (aggressive) style. He showed me lots (of fights). Look at the gym. There are a lot of Mexican fighters. I’ve had sparring with Mexican guys. I know the style and I like the style. (The fight) will be a good present for everybody, the fans who like the Mexican style.”

That style has seen an increase in the number of fans who want to see Golovkin fight. In his first couple of fights in the United States, Golovkin fought in small venues at Indian casinos in upstate New York or Connecticut or as part of co-promotions inside the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Golovkin headlined his first fight card at the Garden when he stopped Curtis Stevens, selling out the venue. After defeating Osumanu Adama on February 1, K2 Promotions, which promotes Golovkin, took a gamble and decided to stage his next fight against Daniel Geale from inside the arena.

A very modest crowd of 8,572 saw Golovkin stop Geale in the third round.

After the announcement the Golovkin-Rubio fight would take place at Stubhub Center, tickets sold out quicker than anticipated to the point temporary bleachers were constructed to accommodate more fight fans who want to see “GGG” in person.

Golovkin notices enormous media coverage and of fight fans stopping him on a street or approaching him at a fight card to seek an autograph or picture. It humbles him, but it is more gratifying that the hours of running and training to mold him into a must-watch fighter is paying off.

“It feels great. It’s amazing. It’s an awesome situation for me. My debut on HBO two years ago with Gregorz Proksa, a lot of people watched my fight. I respect my fans, my people. I thank them a lot. I’m happy because people like my style. My boxing. I’m very happy. Every step has gotten bigger and bigger. It’s very good for me and my career.”

“It (Rubio fight) is a great fight for me in a great situation. I’ve wanted to fight in California for a long time because I’ve lived and trained in California for five years. My training camp has been in Big Bear. This is like my second home. I live about three months in Big Bear, Calif. before a fight. I’m very happy that my next fight is in California with Marco Antonio Rubio. He’s the best middleweight champion (I am facing). I know it’s not an easy fight for us. It’s a big present for California people and fans to be happy.”

Should he be victorious, Golovkin is seeking to continue unifying the division. The fighters he has focused on are the ones who hold a world title (Rubio is the interim WBC middleweight titlist).

Golovkin would want nothing more than to seek fights against the world title-holders. Whether those world title holders want to face Golovkin remains to be seen. But from Golovkin’s end, he wants those fights.

“I want unification fights because for me it’s about who is the best in the middleweight division. Who’s number one. Right now, there are three champions. Miguel Cotto, Cotto, Sam Soliman (now Jermain Taylor with the IBF title). Who’s the best? I want those unification fights. It doesn’t matter against whom.”

“Miguel Cotto. He’s a great champion. He’s been a champion for a long time. Miguel Cotto and me, working with Madison Square Garden, it’s very good for boxing. I hope that I could fight Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden. A fight with Miguel (Cotto) is serious. It’s the biggest fight for me career. I respect Miguel.”

Although Golovkin is 32, he believes he can still get better. That would be a scary thought to think he can do better than he has done thus far in boxing.

He can attribute that to the discipline and the hard training regimen Abel Sanchez has developed for him. Nothing is easy for Golovkin, even though the results in the ring seem like it.

Golovkin has worked hard up to now and nothing is evident that he will change that formula. It has gotten to where he is at and will probably get him more opportunities.
Yep, Golovkin is living the life. What else would you have expected?

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Salazar also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing