By: Sean Crose
After being out of the ring for over a year, 38 year old Gennady Golovkin will finally return to action when he faces the largely unknown Kamil Szeremeta on the 18th of December. The fight will go down at the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida and will be aired live on DAZN. The streaming service, which appears to have fallen on challenging times, has none the less presented boxing fans with a huge lineup for the end of the year. Aside from Golovkin’s return, DAZN will also air Canelo Alvarez’ return fight against Callum Smith the following night. On top of that, heavyweight multi- titlist Anthony Joshua will be facing off against Kubrat Pulev on Decemeber 12th, Billy Joe Saunders will meet Martin Murray on December 4th, and Daniel Jacobs will be battling Gabe Rosado this Saturday night, November 27th…all on DAZN.
IBF middleweight champ Golovkin will no doubt aim to answer some nagging questions when he slips in between the ropes to square off against Szeremeta on the 18th. His last bout, which was against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in October of 2019, proved to be a far closer affair than many had expected it would. Couple that with the fact that the man is nearing forty and has been through two controversial wars with Canelo and there’s little wonder why questions abound. Not all that long ago, Golovkin was one of the most avoided names in boxing. Now fans will see whether or not he still possesses the same fearsome skill set.
As for Szeremeta, the fight with Golovkin represents the chance of a lifetime. Should the undefeated, 21-0 Pole pull off the upset, he will walk out of the ring with the IBF middleweight title and one of the biggest scalps in boxing in his possession. With only five knockouts to his name, however, people are already wondering how well the man can hold off the 40-1-1 Golovkin’s lauded power. Still, the man is Golovkin’s mandatory challenger, which means the Kazakh isn’t simply facing a tuneup opponent.
“Will be great to see @GGGBoxing back in the ring December 18,” tweeted Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler, “making another world title defense against undefeated Kamil Szeremeta.” Golovkin took to social media on Tuesday himself. “See you soon,” he tweeted, “Going for my goal – a record 21st World title defense.” After a good long time out of the ring, the aging lion can now show whether he’s past his prime, or whether, like immortals Manny Pacquiao and Bernard Hopkins, he is undeterred and largely unaffected by Father Time.