Gennadiy Golovkin is intrigued by fighting outside the U.S. and in another weight class. Whether itâs boxing or business, Triple G seems interested in just about everything _ except Canelo Alvarez.
With that chapter of his career in the past _ and unclear if it will ever reappear _ Golovkin is focused only on the opportunity in his present.
The longtime middleweight champion can regain one of his old belts when he faces Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
At stake is the IBF title that both Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs) and Alvarez previously held. Both ended up being forced to vacate it when they wouldnât make matches with Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10 KOs), but Triple G is eager to take him on this time in a bout that will stream on DAZN.
âPlease guys, if you like real fight, donât miss this fight,â Golovkin said.
Itâs his second bout with trainer Johnathon Banks since the two matches with Alvarez, the first a draw and the second a narrow loss that was the first of his career following a record 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses.
Thereâs been little progress toward a third meeting, in part because Golovkin isnât interested in returning to Las Vegas due to his disappointment in the judgesâ scoring of the fights.
Title or not, he appears as popular as ever with his fans, who believe he won one if not both the fights, and plenty of them will be in the crowd for Golovkinâs seventh fight at Madison Square Garden.
The fighter widely known as Gennady before deciding to go with the spelling on his birth certificate will have options afterward at 160 or 168 pounds should he decide to move up, which he said would be only temporary. The Kazakhstan native thinks he might have the opportunity to take his Big Drama Show around the world thanks to DAZNâs availability in other countries.
But he still faces as many questions about Alvarez. He was asked this week if he was tired of that.
âWe have a lot of different things to talk about,â Golovkin said through an interpreter. âWe have a lot of interesting subjects, topics, and you asking about Canelo tells something about you as journalists. Explore better options. Ask more interesting questions. I think itâs your problem, not mine.â
Alvarez is challenging light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev next month, having been stripped of the IBF title when he didnât make a deal to fight Derevyanchenko, the mandatory challenger. The same thing happened last year to Golovkin when he refused a bout with the Ukrainian after the initial date for his rematch with Alvarez was scrapped when the Mexican failed a drug test.
Derevyanchenko then went on to fight Danny Jacobs for the vacant belt, losing by split decision. The fact that heâs getting another chance with just one bout since makes it appear that he benefited from some boxing legal maneuvering, but his handlers say heâs worthy of this fight no matter how he got it.
âAnybody that says that he doesnât deserve to be here again, to put it in sort of a slang way, is a hater,â said Keith Connolly, his manager. âHe deserves to be here, he deserves every penny that heâs making and I think heâll show that Saturday night.â
Derevyanchenko, now based in Brooklyn, had more than 400 amateur fights before finding trouble landing work as a pro. Connolly said heâll be in a position to earn $10 million or more for his next fight should he upset Golovkin.
âSaturday night, Iâm ready for rock and roll,â Derevyanchenko said.
Golovkin is the rock star on the card, the one DAZN signed to a multifight deal after previously signing Alvarez, with the expectation the mere hope of a third bout would sell plenty of subscriptions.
The possibility remains, though Golovkin has more to do at 37 than wait around. Heâll have four fights remaining on his DAZN deal, and even talked of three of them coming in 2020.
âThis is a great time for me,â he said, âa great time for boxing right now.âq
