BIGGEST WINNER

Gennady Golovkin: The career of Gennady Golovkin has generated a strange combination of thrills and frustration, thrills from 22 consecutive knockouts and frustration over the fact he still hasn’t faced an elite opponent 11 years into his career. Triple-G was Triple-G on Saturday in Inglewood, California, tearing poor Dominic Wade (18-1, 12 knockouts) apart in less than two rounds. The fans love such violent endings, which is why they love Golovkin. HBO analyst Max Kellerman compared Triple-G’s run to that of a young Mike Tyson, who had built a record of 27-0 (with 25 KOs) against a string of so-so opponents when he took the heavyweight title from Trevor Berbick in 1986. Good comparison. Tyson generated palpable excitement even if he really didn’t accomplish much, which also can be said of Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs). It didn’t end well for Tyson, who had two reigns as heavyweight champ but came up woefully short against the only two great fighters he faced in their primes – Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis – which damaged his legacy. I’m not saying that will be Golovkin’s fate. The point is that we still don’t know for sure about him. He turned 34 on April 8. Most great boxers have had a number of important fights under their belts by that age. Triple-G has none. God forbid it ends that way. If it did, he would never have the opportunity to prove how great he is. That would be tragic. Enter Canelo Alvarez, who seems to be the only true star in a realistic position to fight Golovkin. If that fight happens – and I’d be shocked if it didn’t given the amount of money on the table – Triple-G would finally have a defining fight. If it somehow doesn’t happen, well, I’m not sure what Golovkin can do but wait and hope someone emerges to make a superfight with a fighter who looks a lot like Superman.

MOST ANTICIPATED

Golovkin vs. Canelo: If the fight doesn’t take place in September, I believe it will take place on Cinco de Mayo weekend of next year. The point is: It will happen. I understand the fans’ frustration and doubts over the uncertainty of the situation. They want Triple-G vs. Canelo and they want it next, assuming Canelo beats Amir Khan on May 7. And I get the fans’ criticism of Canelo, who they feel should defend his middleweight titles against Golovkin at the full 160-pound limit in September or give them up. I wonder about that. Is it really fair to ask a natural junior middleweight to face a bigger fighter who appears to have once-in-a-generation ability before he feels he’s truly ready to do so? I would applaud Canelo if he were to do so in an effort to please the fans. That would take guts. I also think it would be foolhardy, giving such an advantage to a monster like the unbeaten Kazakhstani in what also could be the defining fight in Canelo’s career. I want to see the fight in September as much as anyone else because I’m impatient but I believe it would more competitive next May, when Canelo will be a little more seasoned and physically mature. The fight would also have more time to percolate, meaning it likely would generate more money for all involved next May. That obviously is something that would benefit both fighters. And question: Should the middleweight titles really play a central role in this? I just want to see the fight. I don’t care what weight they agree upon, whether it’s 155 (Canelo’s chosen catchweight), 160 or somewhere in between, or whether any title is at stake. I just want to see the fight. And believe me: Neither fighter is going to give any advantages to his opponent in negotiations if he can help it, which is ideal if you hope to have a competitive fight.

RABBIT PUNCHES

RING flyweight champ and pound-for-pound No. 1 Roman Gonzalez (45-0, 38 KOs) is awesome in the most literal sense of the word. McWilliams Arroyo, his opponent on the Golovkin-Wade card, is obviously a very good, extremely tough little fighter. And Arroyo (16-3, 14 KOs) quickly devolved from an adversary into a survivor. That’s how good Gonzalez is. His combination of work rate – he threw an insane 1,132 punches and connected on 311 of 737 power shots, according to CompuBox – punching power and underappreciated defensive skills make him nearly impossible to beat. No one at 112 pounds is going to touch him. That’s why his announcement that he would fight only once more at that weight and then move up to 115 is welcomed. Maybe someone at junior bantamweight could give him problems. How about No. 1-rated 115-pounder Naoya Inoue, who is No. 9 on the pound-for-pound list? Wouldn’t that be something? ÔǪ Nonito Donaire (37-3, 24 KOs) looked a lot like the Donaire of old Saturday in the Philippines, brutally stopping Zsolt Bedak (25-2, 8 KOs) in three rounds to retain his WBO 122-pound title. The former four-division titleholder hasn’t been in a big fight since he was stopped by Nicholas Walters at 126 pounds in October 2014. He obviously is ready for another primetime showcase. ÔǪ I hope no one really believes that Gilberto Ramirez could hang with Golovkin. Ramirez, only 24, looked pretty good when he took Arthur Abraham’s 168-pound title on April 9 but in no way is he ready for someone like Triple-G. The difference in ability is too vast. That said, Ramirez wouldn’t be a bad choice for Golovkin if he doesn’t fight Canelo in September. He’s young, unbeaten and the bigger man. The fact he’d have absolutely no chance wouldn’t drive too many fans away.