By Allan Fox: WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (28-0, 25 KO’s) did what he said he was going to do in stopping challenger Curtis Stevens (25-4, 18 KO’s) tonight in front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Golovkin punished Stevens for 8 rounds and the fight was stopped by Stevens corner following a brutal 8th round in which Stevens took an enormous amount of hard shots from Golovkin. With this victory, Golovkin will reportedly be back in the ring on February 1st in Monte Carlo, Monaco against an opponent still to be determined. #1 WBA Martin Murray is one name that is being mentioned as a possible opponent for Golovkin. It’s not likely that Murray will agree to fight Golovkin with just three months before the fight.
It’s still not known yet whether HBO will televise the fight. According to RingTV, Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler is working with HBO to find out if they’ll show the fight. Murray isn’t a a real name, and it wouldn’t be surprising if HBO were to pass if he winds up as Golovkin’s next opponent. A much better opponent that HBO would likely say yes to in a heartbeat would be WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
Golovkin said tonight that he would be interested in facing Martinez next. However, Martinez is coming off of a knee and hand injury, and he might not be ready to fight in February. Martinez has the option to take bigger money fights against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Miguel Cotto or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. It doesn’t make sense for Martinez to agree to a smaller money fight against Golovkin that will likely end badly for him. It’s doubtful that Martinez will agree to fight a slugger like Golovkin.
Chavez Jr. would be a good opponent, but he’s fighting a rematch against Brian Vera in early 2014, and he won’t be available to face Golovkin.
Golovkin might be better off moving up to super middleweight for his next fight in February. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to get some of the big names in the division to face him in Monte Carlo on three months notice. That’s not going to happen.
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