By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Steve Rolls doesn’t get the sense Gennadiy Golovkin is underestimating him.
The undefeated Canadian contender can’t say the same for essentially everyone else. The 35-year-old Rolls realizes most fans have given him little chance of pulling off what would be the second huge upset at Madison Square Garden within a week.
The Toronto native nevertheless is confident he can conquer Golovkin in what is supposed to amount to a tune-up prior to Golovkin’s third fight with middleweight rival Canelo Alvarez. Rolls doesn’t understand, particularly after Andy Ruiz Jr. knocked off Anthony Joshua on Saturday night, why he would be perceived as a hopeless opponent for the former middleweight champion.
“I watched the fight,” Rolls said Wednesday before a press conference at Madison Square Garden. “Even before I seen that fight, I had every plan of coming here to pull an upset. I know exactly what I’m capable of, and after watching that fight, I understood when you get two guys in the ring anything can happen. When people count somebody out and everything, I just don’t really get that. I think it’s more shocking for the fans and for the critics. But from my understanding, you know, anything’s possible when you get in the ring with another man.”
Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs) is a much bigger underdog against Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) than Ruiz was versus Joshua.
England’s Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) was a 25-1 favorite in advance of facing Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs), who knocked down the former champion four times and stopped him in the seventh round. Kazakhstan’s Golovkin is listed as a 50-1 favorite by most Internet sports books.
Lou DiBella, Rolls’ promoter, implored doubters to recognize Rolls’ readiness for the biggest fight in his eight years as a pro.
“Look, this is a real fighter,” DiBella said. “He was a top amateur. He was recruited by the late, great Manny Steward for a reason. Manny didn’t recruit people that weren’t talented. He sparred with the best people in the world. You know, people that have seen him fight know he can fight, know he’s an athlete. It’s an unbelievable opportunity.”
Rolls has sparred with former WBC light heavyweight champ Adonis Stevenson, onetime IBF super middleweight champ Lucian Bute and ex-IBF middleweight champ David Lemieux, whom Golovkin stopped in the eighth round of their October 2015 fight at The Garden. Faring well with those accomplished boxers in sparring has inspired Rolls to prove himself against a top opponent in a fight that counts.
“It gives you motivation because you wanna prove people wrong,” Rolls said. “So yeah, I’ve always been very motivated, and I’ve always seen myself eventually getting to this level and fighting at this stage.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
