Gennady "GGG" Golovkin was faced with the stiffest test of his career on Saturday July 26 at Madison Square Garden in New York City when he took on Daniel Geale, and he passed it with flying colors. Golovkin knocked down Geale twice in three rounds, the second of which dazed Geale too badly for him to continue.
Golovkin racks up 17th straight KO vs. Daniel Geale
The TKO victory was Golovkin's 17th straight win by knockout, and nudged his career knockout rate over 90 percent. It was also his first time headlining Madison Square Garden's big room, which was set up for over 9,000 fans. He nearly sold it out, and the excited crowd lent plenty of energy despite a lethargic co-feature between heavyweights Mike Perez and Bryant Jennings.
Golovkin is eager to move on to elite opponents, singling out Miguel Cotto as his next target. Cotto upset Sergio Martinez in June for the WBC middleweight title.
After the fight Golovkin told HBO's Max Kellerman, "My focus is at 160 right now. I want a unification fight.
Golovkin has outside chance of fighting Canelo?
"For me, it's very important, who's the best in the middleweight division? Who are the champions right now? A lot of champions. Miguel Cotto, Peter Quillin, Sam Soliman. Guys, you need show? You need amazing show? Just call me. I'll stay here. I'm ready for everybody."
When prodded about which of those champions he wants first, Golovkin didn't hesitate. "Miguel Cotto. 100 percent, I respect him, I respect his style. This is the biggest fight for everybody. For TV, for my fans, for everybody. For boxing."
That fight may prove difficult to make though-Cotto is a very undersized middleweight, and there is a potentially massive matchup that can be made at some point with 154-lb. superstar Canelo Alvarez. Quillin fights on Showtime, so there are question marks surrounding that fight's viability as well.
The next fight for Golovkin may wind up being a date with IBF middleweight Sam Soliman of Australia. When asked in the post-fight press conference about possibly facing Soliman in Australia, Golovkin's manager Tom Loeffler ruled out a trip to Soliman's turf, but not making the fight.
"There is interest in unifying the titles. HBO would show it, it would make sense," Loeffler said of pitting Soliman vs. Golovkin. "Soliman would fight him here in the U.S. just as Geale did and it'd be on pay per view in Australia. We want to branch out."
Soliman is 44-11-0 with 18 knockouts.
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