Golovkin: I want Cotto or Canelo after Geale fight

By Boxing News - 07/17/2014 - Comments

1-k2071614HBy Dan Ambrose: WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (29-0, 26 KOs) says he’s weighing on 164 pounds with exactly 9 days to go before his title defense against wily veteran Daniel Geale (30-2, 16 KOs) on July 26th on HBO from Madison Square Garden in New York.

The interesting thing about Golovkin’s weight is he hasn’t even started to cut weight for the fight yet. He weighs only 4 pounds away from the 160 pound limit without even cutting weight. He’s not someone that is cutting from the 170s to squeeze down to 160 or worse, 154.

Golovkin is a small middleweight who could easily fighting in the junior middleweight division if he wanted to, but given the lack of names and talent in the division, he chooses to fight at middleweight.

During Wednesday’s media day, Golovkin said that he wants to fight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or Miguel Cotto next after he takes care of business against the 33-year-old Geale. He’s not looking past Geale, but rather just pointing out who he wants to fight next after he gets through with Geale. Some of Canelo’s fans have said that it wouldn’t be fair for Golovkin to face Canelo because they feel that Golovkin is so much bigger than Canelo because he fights in the middleweight division.

As you can see, Golovkin is actually lighter than Canelo at 164 compared to Canelo’s 171 for his last fight and 175 for his fight before that against Alfredo Angulo. To be sure, Golovkin is a little bit taller than Canelo at 5’10” compared to the 5’9” Canelo, but that’s hardly a size advantage unless you’re just looking for excuses not to make the fight.

Golovkin said “I feel terrific, this is a big fight for me. Daniel Geale is a former world champion and a dangerous opponent. This is a big test for me. I’m very happy with the way my career has progressed. This morning I weighed 164, no problem with my weight. It’s very important to me to fight at Madison Square Garden, I’m very happy to be fighting in the big Arena this time. Right now my focus is on Daniel Geale, in the future of course I’d like to fight Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez. Cotto at Madison Square Garden would be perfect. Hopefully my next fight would be in October or November. I’m ready to put on a great show on July 26 for the fans in New York.”

Cotto or Canelo will be great fights for Golovkin. There hasn’t been any talk from Top Rank promoter Bob Arum about him wanting to put Cotto in with Golovkin despite the fact that he just beat Sergio Martinez to capture his WBC title. Ring Magazine has Cotto as the Ring middleweight champion with Golovkin as the No.1 contender to the belt. I don’t know that I agree with that rating, but that’s who the Ring has as their middleweight champion.

Cotto’s win over Sergio Martinez only proved that he could beat an older fighter near 40 who came into the fight after more than a year out of the ring with a bum knee.

Cotto’s silence on the subject of fighting Golovkin can’t be seen as a good sign for the fight being made between them. Additionally, Cotto’s trainer Freddie Roach says he never sees Golovkin on television, which is kind of a hint that he doesn’t see him as being a popular enough fighter to risk having Cotto fight him.



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