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Golovkin-Stevens set for Nov. 2 at MSG

Fighters Network
29
Aug

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A deal has been reached for WBA middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin to defend his belt against Curtis “Showtime” Stevens on Nov. 2 in The Theatre at New York’s Madison Square Garden on HBO, the handlers of both fighters confirmed to RingTV.com on Wednesday.

Golovkin (27-0, 24 knockouts) scored his 14th straight stoppage win against Matthew Macklin in June, which followed third-round KO of Japanese contender Nobuhiro Ishida and a bloody, seventh-round knockout of Gabriel Rosado at The Garden in January.



A Brooklyn native, Stevens (25-3, 18 KOs) is coming off a first-round stoppage of Saul Roman on Aug. 3 after having earned an eight-round unanimous decision over Derrick Findley in April at The Garden.

Asked if the fight is on, Golovkin’s handler, Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, replied, “yes,” in a text.

“The deal is done. We’ve got a real live dog in this fight. The big punch is an equalizer, no matter how great you are. Hats off to Gennady Golovkin, he’s a tremendous fighter,” Kathy Duva, president of Main Events, which promotes Stevens.

“I think Curtis Stevens is a tremendous fighter too, and that he’ll get a chance to show that on Nov. 2. This is one of those fights. I don’t know who wouldn’t want to watch this. Anything can happen, which makes it an interesting fight.”

Press conferences are being planed for next Wednesday in New York, and Thursday in Los Angeles.

“I’m really excited. Curtis Stevens is in his home town. All of the pressure is on the other guy,” said Duva. “It’s a great opportunity for Curtis. I think that a lot of people are going to be surprised.”

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]

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