WBA middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin will pursue his 14th straight stoppage victory against ruggged Matthew Macklin on June 29 in Mashantucket, Conn., to be televised on HBO, promoters K2 and DiBella Entertainment announced on Thursday.

“I’m excited to return to the United States and once again fight on HBO,” said Golovkin, who is 31. “Matthew Macklin is a skilled, strong fighter and I look forward to the challenge of defending my titles on June 29. I have seen a few of his fights and am very conscious of how tough of a battle this is.”

The Kazakhstan-born Golovkin (26-0, 23 knockouts) is coming off last month’s third-round knockout of Nobuhiro Ishida, who was stopped for the first time in his career.

The win over Ishida followed Golovkin’s bloody, seventh-round stoppage of Gabriel Rosado at New York’s Madison Square Garden in January.

“Golovkin hasn’t put a foot wrong yet as a pro. He’s destroyed pretty much everyone and, as a consequence, he’s probably the most hyped fighter in the sport right now,” said Macklin, who turns 31 in May.

“People have made him out to be this monster, but he bleeds red just like everyone else. And, for the first time in his career, he’s going to be stepping into the ring against a big, strong, proper world-class middleweight.”

Macklin (29-4, 20 KOs), who turns 31 in May, was last in the ring for September’s first-round stoppage of ex-titleholder Joachim Alcine that helped him to rebound from consecutive setbacks against Sergio Martinez and Felix Sturm.

“When you compare my last three opponents to Golovkin’s last three opponents, it’s clear who the proven entity is going into this fight. I got robbed against Felix Sturm in Germany,” said Macklin.

“It was nip-and-tuck between me and Sergio Martinez until I got caught in the eleventh, and last time out, I blew away Joachim Alcine inside a round, a former world champ who was coming off a career-best win.”

Prior to facing Macklin, Alcine was coming off a majority decision over higly-touted prospect David Lemieux in December of 2011.

Macklin’s other losses were by decision against Andrew Facey in November of 2003, and by 10th-round knockout against Jamie Moore in September of 2006.

“Gennady is excited to return to the ring so quickly to defend his titles against a proven, top-rated middleweight in Matthew Macklin. Gennady was ringside for Macklin’s fight against Sergio Martinez last March,” said Tom Loeffler, managing directory of K2 Promotions.

“He saw firsthand how dangerous he is as he dropped Sergio in the seventh round. GGG has become one of the most talked-about fighters in boxing. This fight with Macklin will be a very hot ticket. We’re thankful to HBO for featuring Gennady again and also to the Foxwoods Resort Casino for hosting this event.”

Macklin’s promoter, Lou DiBella, also handles Martinez.

“Golovkin-Macklin is one of the very best fights that can be made in the middleweight division and all of boxing,” said DiBella. “It figures to be a barnburner and we are thrilled that Matthew is getting another deserved opportunity at a world title.”

Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]