By Keith Idec
Artie Pelullo is well aware of the negative things being said about Willie Monroe Jr.
The prevailing opinion is that Monroe is just another overmatched opponent for middleweight monster Gennady Golovkin to knock out Saturday night in Inglewood, California. Pelullo, whose company promotes Monroe, disputed his fighter’s supposed role in their 160-pound title fight during a press conference Tuesday at a Los Angeles hotel near The Forum, where Golovkin and Monroe will square off in an HBO “World Championship Boxing” main event (10 p.m. ET).
“Most of you guys don’t realize what you’re about to see,” Pelullo said. “Most of the people in the room believe it’s a one-sided fight, which is incorrect. He’s here because he’s a real fighter.”
Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (32-0, 29 KOs) is listed by several Internet sports books as a 50-1 favorite over Monroe (19-1, 6 KOs), a light-punching southpaw from Rochester, N.Y.
The 28-year-old Monroe most recently beat Bryan Vera (23-9, 14 KOs) by unanimous decision Jan. 16 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y. In the bout before his victory over Vera, Monroe out-boxed Brandon Adams (17-1, 12 KOs) pretty easily in the final of ESPN’s 2014 Boxcino middleweight tournament, last May 23 at Turning Stone.
Monroe has won nine straight fights since journeyman Darnell Boone (21-21-4, 10 KOs) defeated him by split decision in an eight-rounder four years ago in Manhattan.
“We’re ready, so we’re going to go out there and put on a great show,” said Tony Morgan, Monroe’s trainer. “I’m afraid there’s going to be a changing of the guard. We’re going to do what we do. And we’ve been winning – we’re going to keep winning. And I hope it’s going to be a great show, because everyone is looking for an exciting show. It’ll be exciting on our end. I believe they’ll bring their excitement, too.”
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.
