By: Francisco Martinez
“Undefeated”; Gennady Golovkin vs. Dominic Wade isn’t Canelo vs. Golovkin by any means. With the WBC allowing in between fights for Gennady Golovkin & Saul Alvarez before having to face each other with Canelo being the WBC champion and Golovkin holding the interim title. After his showdown with Amir Khan if successful Canelo will have 15 days to decide if he wants to defend his title against Golovkin or face being stripped of his newly acquired hardware. As for Dominic Wade who was a no show at the press conference due to volatile weather conditions so what little we could have gotten out of the relatively unknown, undefeated challenger was not available for the media this past Tuesday.
As for Gennady Golovkin, BoxingInsider.com had the opportunity to get a few questions in with the most avoided man in boxing. The always smiling and entertaining Golovkin is somewhat of boxing’s sweetheart when it comes to his fans and media but in the ring he’s strictly buisness. After all he is in the “hurt” business and business is a booming.
BoxingInsider: You where set to fight (what) rumors where Billy Joe Sounders now you have Dominic Wade even Canelo but are you satisfied with this opponent here? Does he push you to see something different come fight night?
Gennady Golovkin: Yeah, I’m ready. My focus right now is Dominc Wade. My goal is all the belts in the middleweight division. I need to unify, I want a unification fight but right now Dominic Wade, he is the IBF mandatory challenger. Why not? He has (to) be respected for (being the) mandatory.
Tureano Johnson was unable to see it out his opportunity for the IBF middleweight title as he was the mandatory due to a shoulder injury Gennady Golovkin’s team went down the line and Dominic Wade was the next available opponent as the mandatory for Golovkin’s IBF title.
With Gennady Golovkin being the WBA super champion and Daniel Jacobs holding the other half of it, only means at some point Golovkin will face the same ruling as Canelo which is to defend the WBA title against Daniel Jacobs or face being stripped. With Dominic Wade being an Al Haymon managed fighter it gives hope to a Golovkin vs. Jacobs mega showdown in the near future.
BoxinInsider: You’re the interim WBC champion, you say you want to unify the the titles and now with Canelo holding the WBC title do you feel that the fight with him has to materialize or do you move on if it’s not possible?
Gennady Golovkin: You know I’m ready. I am a boxer, I’m not a promoter. I’m ready for him, I’m ready for anybody because I know my situation.
Gennady Golovkin is 33 years of age and he clearly knows that. With time not on his side Golovkin is pushing hard to become the undisputed champion at middleweight. Whether that’s having to face Canelo or not It seems Gennady Golovkin is locked in on being undisputed champion as his major goal. If Golovkin manages to do so he would be the first undisputed middleweight champion since Jermain Taylor successfully dethroned Bernard Hopkins back in 2005 after Hopkins himself being the undisputed champion for several years before his reign came to an end.
BoxingInsider: Your fighting at The Forum for your second time. You have Chocolatito (Roman Gonzalez) on your card and it’s basically the same card from the previous fight how do you feel about this night to present for the fans a big drama show?
Gennady Golovkin: Yeah it is a big present for the fans, yes absolutely. I think each boxer is a good mix and both good fights. I think this is a good present.
With 30% of their tickets already sold via pre sale not open to the public it’s a clear indication that the fans themselves see this as a “big present” from Gennady Golovkin who’s Mexican style of fighting always makes for fireworks. The complete card futures Roman Gonzalez and Seniesa Estrada amongst others who add their own exciting way of fighting into the mix. Roman Gonzalez has become the co-main event for Golovkin’s card for the past 2 fights and has managed to produce knockout performances on both occasions. As for Seniesa Estrada it will be her second time fighting on a Golovkin card with her first performance being a unanimous decision where she dominated her opponent and even put her down once if I recall correctly.
So this coming April 23rd reserve your date for what Gennady Golovkin calls a “big drama show” at The Forum live on HBO with the WBA, IBF, IBO and interim WBC titles on the line as Golovkin vs. Wade square up in a good ole fashion “winner takes all” game of stakes.
Photo: Chris Farina – K2 Promotions