Gennady Golovkin has his eye on Canelo but won’t overlook Wade

Feb

LOS ANGELES – Gennady Golovkin’s next fight, against Dominic Wade on April 23, has been announced but boxing fans and sports media are only interested in a showdown between the undefeated middleweight titleholder and Mexican star Canelo Alvarez.

Most of Golovkin’s recent appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter was spent talking about the anticipated WBC-mandated showdown, which may or may not happen in September. Golovkin (34-0, 31 knockouts) admits that he’s excited about the prospect of fighting Alvarez but even though he is expected to easily score his 22^nd consecutive knockout against Wade he told SportsCenter’s Stan Verrett that his focus is firmly on the undefeated (18-0, 12 KOs) 25-year-old Washington, D.C. native.

Golovkin reiterated this to a group of boxing writers before a press conference at the Conga Room at L.A. LIVE a day after his SportsCenter appearance.

“I keep my focus for every opponent,” said the 33-year-old holder of the WBA, IBF and WBC interim 160-pound belts. “Dominic Wade is (my) IBF mandatory. I respect the IBF. I want to keep my belt. My goal is to win all middleweight belts. Every step (to my goal) is important.”

Golovkin admitted that he hadn’t heard of Wade before the IBF’s No. 3-rated middleweight was mentioned as a possible opponent. Wade, whose best win is a 10-round unanimous decision over veteran former beltholder Sam Soliman last June, is not rated by THE RING or ESPN.com. The Transnational Boxing Rankings ranks Wade at No. 10, but most fans view him as a prospect. However, Golovkin says the rangy 5-foot-11 boxer deserves respect.

“I heard he had a good amateur career,” Golovkin said. “He’s young, the same age as Canelo. I remember when I was his age. I wanted to fight the champions. He feels he has a big chance.”

The media thinks Wade’s chances are slim and none (and Slim left town, as Don King used to say). They want Golovkin to talk about Canelo. They want Golovkin to talk about anything (but Wade). The media demand for the Kazakhstan native has never been stronger, which makes some wonder if he’ll be able to keep his mind on his training and his unheralded challenger.

“Absolutely,” said Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez. “We have to be at our best every time he steps into the ring. Everything he does will be criticized. He’s at that stage in his career where he’s a lightning rod. Fans are looking for perfection from him and he knows this.

“The media appearances and distractions right now are just for right now. When he’s in camp, it’s just camp. That’s the beauty of training in Big Bear (Lake, California).”

Sanchez said he would probably enlist the services of Julius Jackson, Paul Mendez and Cedric Bellias – tall and rangy fringe contenders at middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight – to spar with Golovkin.

Not that anyone cares.

Diehard fans want to know two things: when will Golovkin get Alvarez and will he have to fight THE RING and WBC middleweight champ at the same 155-pound catchweight that Alvarez fought Miguel Cotto at and that Alvarez’s next opponent, Amir Khan, agreed to meet him at.

Golovkin and promoter Tom Loeffler are hopeful that Alvarez will agree to fight in September after his May 7 pay-per-view with Khan. Golovkin doesn’t think the 155-pound catchweight is good for Khan, him or the sport.

“Khan might look good, feel good at 155, but it’s not good for him; it’s not going to help,” Golovkin said. “I’m a middleweight champion. Canelo is a middleweight champion and a big star. He should be ready for me – at middleweight. Middleweight is 160, not 155.”

Loeffler believes WBC rules will back up Golovkin’s traditionalist view of his mandatory challenge to Alvarez.

Loeffler was asked if he expects Alvarez’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, to delay the fight until 2017.

“That’s a good question,” Loeffler said. “The fight was mandated by the WBC to take place this year. Canelo has 15 days after May 7 to agree to fight Golovkin. If he agrees, we have 30 days to make a deal. If we can’t come to a deal, we go to a purse bid. If he doesn’t want to fight, he loses the WBC belt.”

It might be wishful thinking, but Loeffler doesn’t believe it will come to that.

“We have a good relationship with Golden Boy and we’ve always said that Canelo is a proud champion. He’s taken dangerous fights before, fights where he didn’t make nearly as much money as he will by fighting Golovkin.”

In the meantime, the GGG bandwagon rolls on, gaining more momentum and more riders with each fight.

More than 5,000 tickets (around 5,300 by Tuesday morning) were pre-sold for Golovkin-Wade, which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The HBO-televised bout, which is co-headlined by flyweight champ Roman Gonzalez, is on track to selling out the 16,000-seat arena, another indication of Golovkin’s growing popularity.

Golovkin’s first bout in Southern California, against Marco Antonio Rubio at Stub Hub Center in Carson in October of 2014, literally overflowed the 8,000-seat outdoor venue. His last fight, against David Lemieux at Madison Square Garden last November, sold-out the storied New York City arena.

“I think selling out Madison Square Garden and The Forum is a huge statement for his marketability,” said Loeffler. “You have to buy tickets early if you want to see GGG fight live.”