Gennadiy Golovkin next fight: Canelo is 2021 goal, but more options

Gennadiy Golovkin took over matters Friday night in Florida, eliminating IBF mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta in seven rounds of one-way traffic, ending 2020 with a victory and marching into a new year.

Golovkin will turn 39 in April, and with three fights remaining on his contract with DAZN (at least if the number of fights remained constant through the contract rework), I think it’s fair to say that boxing fans would like to largely watch him avoid more Steve Rolls or Szeremeta fight nights. Look, we can be fair here: Rolls was a set-up with a new coach, and Szeremeta was mandatory for the GGG IBF belt. But the time for Golovkin to have bigger fights may get shorter and shorter.

Szeremeta offered no real resistance to Golovkin. I did round by round on Friday night, and having done it for many years, I can tell you a couple of things for sure, a little into baseball:

1. It definitely helps you pay attention to the basics of a fight.
2. Sometimes you can miss something more subtle.

I had the annoying feeling that the second was happening last night, something was itching me. Looking at it again this morning, I realized that what bothered me a bit is that despite all the “GGG of yesteryear” promotional boasting from DAZN or Eddie Hearn or whoever, that was not the GGG of yesteryear. The GGG of yesteryear ends it in three. The GGG of now carried it for several rounds, which he basically admitted, and showed almost indifference for attacking and closing the show. Golovkin can be seen, obviously, off the gas several times in the fight.

Either that or GGG looked a bit tired in the later rounds, and the later rounds here weren’t quite within the 12-round distance. I choose to believe that Golovkin was simply not ending the way he could have done before, partly because he said so, and partly because it seems like the most likely case. (I realize “he said so” might work for most people as full reasoning, but in GGG’s own words: come on guys, this is a box).

Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KO) will no longer be “the GGG of old” for the simple reason that he is older than he used to be. He still has some dull power, but the speed has slowed a bit, and while he never exactly launched himself around the ring, he seems to walk a bit more these days; not just in this fight, but against Derevyanchenko last year, even a bit against Rolls in 2019 as well.

SAID THAT, and I know this all sounds a bit bleak, he’s still a fantastic fighter, one of the best in the world at 160 (if Canelo stays at 168, GGG is back in the top spot) and he’s still a threat to no one . He’s strong, he’s smart, he still has the offensive weapons to mix and match his attacks, and if he was really looking for a nasty finish against Szeremeta, he would have gotten one. The Pole couldn’t deal with Golovkin at all.

Now what about Gennadiy?

Canelo Alvarez

Photo by Omar Vega / Getty Images

Not to go over it all again, as we just did, but yeah, a trilogy fight with Canelo is goal number one. And honestly, he would be target number one no matter what happens in the Canelo-Callum Smith fight tonight.

If Canelo wins, then he has belts at 160 and 168, at least for the moment. He would probably get Golovkin to fight at 168, or at least a middleweight, because he can, and Canelo likes to take advantage being Canelo – Side A, the money man, the superstar. Golovkin and his team know this very well from previous experience.

How to watch Canelo vs Smith

Date: Saturday December 19 | Start time: 8:00 pm ET
Location: Alamodome – San Antonio, TX
Stream: DAZN
Online coverage: BadLeftHook.com

But let’s say Callum Smith beats Canelo. Canelo would still have the WBA belt at 160, and Canelo-GGG 3 in a middleweight unification would not only still be a great fight, but a personal, easy-to-sell fight. It’s no secret that the two of them really don’t like each other, and if you want a reason to believe that, keep in mind that no squawk and yell at each other constantly. Their shared dislike is calm and sincere.

Does it lose shine if Canelo loses to Smith? Of course. But it’s still an important event, sort of like when Manny Pacquiao lost a controversial decision to Tim Bradley in 2012, and six months later he came out and made his fourth fight with his great rival Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao-Marquez 4 was still huge.

Bottom line: Canelo-GGG 3 is largely the larger fight that Golovkin can do. That’s definitely true if Canelo beats Smith, and it’s probably still true if Canelo loses to Smith.

It’s not worth its own section because it requires Smith to win tonight, but obviously if Callum Smith beats Canelo, he would surely enjoy the chance to welcome Golovkin to 168 in a two-belt fight and the chance to score another big win over one. great. , great name.

Other candidates

Photo by Michael Reaves / Getty Images

• Demetrius Andrade: WBO Champion Andrade (29-0, 18 KO) needs a real big fight. He’s won belts at 154 and 160, says he’s interested in trying it at 168, and that all sounds great. But “Boo Boo” is a 32-year-old and 12-year-old professional who still has little name value for his level and experience, because his biggest wins in all that time have been attributed to Jack Culcay and Maciej Sulecki and Vanes Martirosyan, and the fight. Martirosyan’s was so long ago (2013) that it’s mostly been forgotten. Andrade can box, he’s skilled, but we really don’t know how he fares against a real high-level opponent, because he’s never faced one. Perhaps you are up to the task and have a late breakthrough. It may melt under pressure. It would be nice to find out, and I choose to believe Andrade really does. to wish A great fight, and he’s wanted one, but that his combination of skills and lack of brand power has kept a lot of people from wanting to fight him.
• Billy Joe Saunders: Saunders (30-0, 14 KO) holds the WBO belt at 168, so he could fight GGG at that weight, or there is still a belief that he can do 160 again if a fight is worth it, and Golovkin would be worth it. the sorrow. Saunders, similar to Andrade, is obviously talented, but has a rather slim record of notable accomplishments at age 31 and 11 years as a professional. His win over David Lemieux still resonates with some because he looked so good doing it in 2017, but Lemieux has also lost to Marco Antonio Rubio and an old Joachim Alcine, and while those L’s came in 2011, it’s not like he’s improved noticeably. . The one-dimensional slugger isn’t that hard to beat, in all honesty. We were excited at the time because it looked like Saunders was ready to get out of there. But since then, and it’s been three years, he basically hasn’t done anything that no one will remember two days later. GGG would be a new level for Saunders and, like Andrade, he would be welcome.
• Daniel Jacobs: The deal Jacobs (37-3, 30 KOs) had with DAZN and Matchroom ended with his terribly boring and controversial win over Gabe Rosado on November 27, but despite a mediocre outing in every way, Jacobs will continue to be in demand. There really has never been a better time to be a credible fighter, if not a superstar. Still, you can expect pay cuts compared to what you were getting, because what you were getting was something of an absurdity, another early move from DAZN where they were throwing money like a bunch of bullies on payday. Jacobs will still want to cash checks, although there are questions about whether his heart is still in the fighting game. A rematch with Golovkin, who narrowly edged Jacobs in 2017, could see the “Miracle Man” fight again.
• Jaime Munguia: This is probably unlikely because Golden Boy Promotions is in dire need of stars with Canelo off the roster, and while they have two obvious young players in Ryan Garcia and Vergil Ortiz Jr, don’t discount the value that Munguia (36-0, 29 KO) brings. . either. He’s Mexican, so he has a very loyal, built-in fan base, and it’s exciting to watch. After two wins over Spike O’Sullivan and Tureano Johnson to start his career at 160 after winning a belt at 154, Munguia could be ready to hit as a middleweight, or at least do his best. But the 24-year-old is still young, still constantly trying to improve with coach Erik Morales, and it might not be the right time to take a chance against Gennadiy. GGG may be slowing down, but Munguia seems tailor-made so maybe Really see something like the “GGG of yesteryear”. Munguia has defensive leaks to say the least, a flawed fighter, and GGG probably wouldn’t play with his food, because Jaime can return some live fire, unlike Szeremeta.
• Jermall Charlo: WBC champion Charlo (31-0, 22 KO) deserves to be mentioned here, and I think if it fit Jermall and the deal was right, he would definitely take a fight with Golovkin at this point, but given that he’s with PBC:

• Ryota Murata: Man, I want to see this fight. (I’d love to see GGG vs Jermall, too, for the record.) Golovkin and Murata (16-2, 13 KO) could provoke some incredibly brutal violence. Their styles and skill sets seem perfectly blended into a kind of “two guys that hurt for as long as it lasts,” and it could be a grand grand event in Japan, which would be good for DAZN’s global expansion. Murata is co-promoted by Top Rank, but they work well with Matchroom, and it would be a great fight, so it’s not an unrealistic pipe dream or anything like that. Not that Murata was an ESPN standout guy.