Kamil Szeremeta pays as little attention to those who dismiss his chances as he does to the claims that a lesser version of Gennadiy Golovkin awaits him in the ring this weekend.
The long-postponed middleweight title fight finally takes place this Friday at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The bout comes more than 14 months after first being pitched to the International Boxing Federation (IBF), whose title Golovkin claimed in a spirited 12-round war with Sergiy Derevyanchenko last October at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
While hailed by many as the 2019 Fight of the Year, there also came the suggestion that Golovkin—who has since celebrated his 38th birthday this past April—has long seen better days. Even if that’s true, there’s also the reminder that he’s arguably the best middleweight in the world today, especially with longtime rival Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez now campaigning one division north for the moment.
“You cannot defeat Father Time. We know that,” Szeremeta noted during a recent Zoom media conference call to discuss Friday’s bout. “We know he is past his prime and I am entering mine.
“However, he is still a dangerous fighter and I have to be aware of that at all times.”
Szeremeta (21-0, 5KOs) preserved his place in line for his first career title fight following a 2nd round knockout of Oscar Cortes on the undercard of Golovkin-Derevyanchenko last October. The win was his third of an active 2019 campaign which began with a hard-fought 12-round win over Andrew Francillette to win the EBU middleweight title last March on the road in Grande-Synthe, France.
It was on that night, when Szeremeta’s name was first floated as a potential opponent for Golovkin who was on the comeback trail following a 12-round loss to Alvarez in their September 2018 rematch. Golovkin (40-1-1, 35KOs) wound up facing Steve Rolls, whom he stopped in four rounds last June, followed by his aforementioned win over Derevyanchenko.
The wait was worthwhile for Szeremeta. The 31-year old from Bialystok, Poland gained an extra payday in a stay-busy fight on that undercard along with an up-close view of the title fight opportunity he now receives more than a year later.
“Golovkin looked how he looked because of Derevyanchenko. Sergiy fought so well that night,” notes Szeremeta, dismissing claims of Golovkin’s demise while also studying the fight for his own benefit. “I was watching this fight very closely, observing what I could (mimic) like Derevyanchenko.
“When we fight, though, I want to up the tempo more than he did. The fight was very close, I don’t want our fight to be that close.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox