Gennadiy Golovkin will carry on fighting after that trilogy loss to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in their massive Vegas showdown, but who will he face in his next fight?
The 40-year-old ‘Big Drama Shaw’ didn’t live up to his name at T-Mobile Arena as he dropped a unanimous decision to the Mexican megastar to end their bitter rivalry. Golovkin (now 42-2-1) has only ever lost to Alvarez, but this time there was zero controversy.
There were question marks about the scoring, but only that the cards were way too close after a one-sided fight in which Golovkin looked every day of his 40 years of age.
One judge had it a just about believable 116-112, but two scored in 115-113 – absolutely laughable.
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Golovkin did make a better job of things down the stretch as he finally tried to let his hands go, but he was just no match for ‘Canelo’.
If you were expecting ‘GGG’ to retire in the ring after this though, think again, he vowed to fight on.
GGG next fight: Who will it be?
First of all, there will absolutely be no fourth meeting with ‘Canelo’. The matter of Golovkin’s defeat in the trilogy match was utterly decisive. He says he will head back down to middleweight to resume his reign as champion at 160lbs.
Golovkin of course is the WBA and IBF middleweight king, so he has belts to defend. The bout which might bring in the most cash – especially if it happened in the UK – is a showdown with Chris Eubank Jr.
Eubank Jr has business of his own to attend to first – a clash with Conor Benn (son of Nigel) on October 8. We are pretty sure if he comes through that the drums for a GGG/Eubank Jr fight would start to beat very loudly.
GGG Next Fight Odds
Golovkin was a +425 underdog for that trilogy fight with Canelo, unheard of. It was the first time he’d been on the wrong end of the betting odds ever (as far as we can remember).
GGG Picks & Predictions
We have expert previews and free boxing betting picks for all major fights, so check back during the next ‘GGG’ fight week for our verdict and predictions on his next fight.
Fight Time, TV & Live Stream
Golovkin is signed with streaming platform DAZN (the self-styled ‘Netflix of sports’) and we expect his next bout to once again air globally on that medium.
Subscription packages for DAZN (the PPV fee of $64.99 vs Canelo was additional) are either $19.99 per month or $149.99 for a year.
GGG Weight
GGG weighed at 167.8lbs for the trilogy with Canelo – just under the super-middleweight limit of 168lbs.
As stated, he will head back down to middleweight and 160lbs for his next fight.
Canelo vs GGG 3 Tickets
Tickets for the big fight vs Canelo go on pre-sale using code MATCHROOM on Friday June 24, then to general sale Monday June 27 (Both at 10am) via http://axs.com. Tickets start from $305 plus fees.
GGG Record & Profile
Gennadiy Golovkin was born on April 8, 1982, in Kazakhstan, and he turned 40 years of age in April 2022 – the day before that showdown with Murata in Japan.
The long-time middleweight ruler has a 42-2-1 record in the pros – 42 wins, one defeat and one draw. All of those blemishes came in meetings with Canelo – the draw in 2017 and defeats in 2018 and 2022. The results of those first two fights between the pair were hotly-disputed.
Outside of that, Golovkin has had a terrific career at the very highest level – he matches underrated boxing smarts and ring savvy with frightening power. As one opponent put it: “Some fighters, the occasional punch feels like a hammer. Every single punch from GGG feels like that”. Ouch.
As well as longevity, GGG has lived almost exclusively at the very highest level. He holds the record number of successful middleweight title defenses – 22 after the showdown with Ryoto Murata in Japan earlier in 2022.
A look at Golovkin’s record and he has some terrific names on there, including Daniel Jacobs, Kell Brook and David Lemieux among many others.
If there is a question mark about Golovkin right now, it’s what he has left. Like we already said, he’s only fought once in the past two years, and he turned 40 the day before he faced Murata.
Golovkin looked absolutely on the downside of an incredible Hall of Fame career in that trilogy meeting with Canelo. When he returns to action the question will be what does he have left?