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Fans have turned out in droves for the West Coast debut of Gennady Golovkin. The flame-throwing puncher from Kazakhstan faces Mexico's Marco Antonio Rubio in front of a sold-out, Standing-Room-Only crowd at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Golovkin (30-0, 27KOs) is widely viewed as the future and present of the middleweight division. His all-action style has led to knockout wins in all 12 of his middleweight title fights heading into Saturday evening, having stopped his past 17 opponents overall.
The showdown with Rubio marks Golovkin’s 6th appearance on HBO (Saturday, 10:00 p.m. ET), quickly emerging as the face of the network as he expands his brand name in the United States. His most recent win came in July, scoring a one-sided third round stoppage of former middleweight titlist Daniel Geale in New York City.
Rubio (59-6-1, 51KOs) makes his third attempt at a middleweight title. The Mexican puncher has come up well short in bids versus Kelly Pavlik – knocked out in nine rounds in Feb. ’09 – and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr – dropping a decision in Feb. ’12.
Few gave Rubio much of a chance of winning against the unbeaten Golovkin, placed as high as 60-1 by some oddsmakers. Those dismal chances appeared to have disappeared following his follies at the scales, showing up nearly two pounds over the limit – already looking soft – and refusing to shed the extra weight, instead paying a $100,000 fine.
The two sides reached a deal in order to allow the fight to go on, with Rubio forced to vacate his interim middleweight belt at the scales. Golovkin remains eligible to win the title, while his own alphabet belt is not at stake since Rubio is overweight.
The only significance that comes with the interim title is that the winner will be named mandatory challenger to World lineal middleweight king Miguel Cotto.
Read on to see how the staff at Boxingscene.com believes Saturday’s middleweight action goes down at the StubHub Center. [Click Here To Read More]
Golovkin (30-0, 27KOs) is widely viewed as the future and present of the middleweight division. His all-action style has led to knockout wins in all 12 of his middleweight title fights heading into Saturday evening, having stopped his past 17 opponents overall.
The showdown with Rubio marks Golovkin’s 6th appearance on HBO (Saturday, 10:00 p.m. ET), quickly emerging as the face of the network as he expands his brand name in the United States. His most recent win came in July, scoring a one-sided third round stoppage of former middleweight titlist Daniel Geale in New York City.
Rubio (59-6-1, 51KOs) makes his third attempt at a middleweight title. The Mexican puncher has come up well short in bids versus Kelly Pavlik – knocked out in nine rounds in Feb. ’09 – and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr – dropping a decision in Feb. ’12.
Few gave Rubio much of a chance of winning against the unbeaten Golovkin, placed as high as 60-1 by some oddsmakers. Those dismal chances appeared to have disappeared following his follies at the scales, showing up nearly two pounds over the limit – already looking soft – and refusing to shed the extra weight, instead paying a $100,000 fine.
The two sides reached a deal in order to allow the fight to go on, with Rubio forced to vacate his interim middleweight belt at the scales. Golovkin remains eligible to win the title, while his own alphabet belt is not at stake since Rubio is overweight.
The only significance that comes with the interim title is that the winner will be named mandatory challenger to World lineal middleweight king Miguel Cotto.
Read on to see how the staff at Boxingscene.com believes Saturday’s middleweight action goes down at the StubHub Center. [Click Here To Read More]
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