GENNADY GOLOVKIN did the simple bit. He walked through Vanes Martirosyan on Saturday at the Stub Hub Center in Carson. The Armenian did catch Golovkin in the first round but Golovkin was relaxed, contemptuous of his opponent’s power. Martirosyan could not hurt him and the Kazakh powered into him to score yet another highlight reel knockout.
His team were satisfied with the showing. Trainer Abel Sanchez said, “Gennady gives them the kind of fight that they expect and not a dance.”
That could also be interpreted as a jibe at Danny Jacobs and the tactics employed by Canelo Alvarez, both of whom went the distance with Golovkin in 2017.
As satisfying as getting his first KO in a year is, Golovkin’s path is more complicated now. He retains the WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight championships. The IBF expect him to defend against their mandatory Sergey Derevyanchenko next. He wants the Canelo Alvarez fight. The Mexican will be back from his drug ban and ready to fight in September.
“The rematch with Canelo is the biggest fight in the sport of boxing,” promoter Tom Loeffler said. “If that fight happens, it’s not a guarantee, but if that fight happens it’ll be much bigger than the first fight, especially if Canelo decides to fight.”
There are plenty of options, the WBC will have a mandatory eventually, with Jermall Charlo going down that route. Ryota Murata’s WBA ‘regular’ title will put him in the frame for a shot at Golovkin and what would be a good fight.
It all means we’ll have to wait a long time for a potential fight with Billy Joe Saunders to unify all four major middleweight belts.
That is a headache for Golovkin’s team. “My job is very small,” at least the Kazakh said. “I’m a fighter.”
