WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin was a ratings hit on HBO. When his scheduled clash with Canelo Alvarez fell through, Golovkin insisted on fighting on May 5 regardless. A new, albeit low key opponent, Vanes Martirosyan was drafted in and the fight moved from Las Vegas to the Stub Hub Center in Los Angeles. The fight was also taken off pay-per-view. But his decision was vindicated.
In a statement it was revealed that the Golovkin vs. Martirosyan main event registered 1,249,000 viewers and peaked at 1,361,000 viewers, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. Those figures make Golovkin vs. Martirosyan the number one rated cable fight for 2018 and the top-rated premium cable fight since 2016 – Golovkin’s title defense against Dominic Wade.
“Gennady Golovkin may be the champion of the middleweight division but he delivers knockout ratings with a heavyweight punch,” said Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler.
“Gennady continues to rack up the records. Not only did he tie Bernard Hopkins’ consecutive title defence record, it took Gennady two less years to accomplish that feat. Gennady also added two more StubHub Center milestones to his long list of accomplishments. In addition to owning the boxing attendance record at StubHub Center, which he set in 2014 against Marco Rubio, he also shattered the venue’s record for the highest-grossing boxing event and merchandise sales on Saturday night. That makes Gennady a StubHub Center Triple Crown winner!
“Besides StubHub Center, the ‘Big Drama Show’ has sold out many of the most iconic arenas, including The Forum, Madison Square Garden and the O2 Arena. Make no mistake, this is just the beginning. Gennady is ready to return to the ring as soon as it can be scheduled.”
