By Scott Gilfoid: If you were hoping to see some improvement in the opposition for WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (29-0, 26 KO’s) for his next fight on April 26th then I’m sorry to have to disappoint you. It looks as if Golovkin will be fighting a lesser opponent for his next fight at Madison Square Garden in New York.
James Kirkland, a highly ranked junior middleweight contender, is reportedly pricing himself out of the fight with Golovkin. So instead of Kirkland, it could very well be fringe middleweight contender Andy Lee (31-2, 22 KO’s) that gets the fight with Golovkin. Lee, just so you know, is ranked #7 WBC, #11 WBA, #11 WBO in the middleweight division. Lee is arguably a lateral move from Golvokin’s last fight against Osumanu Adama, who Golovskin smashed in 7 rounds on Saturday at the Salle des etoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco.
“Well, Kirkland is apparently asking for a lot of money, so Lee is an option being discussed, yes,” Steve Kim said on his twitter.
If Lee gets the fight against Golovkin, then I can’t see the fight lasting longer than a couple of rounds under the best of circumstances. Yeah, Lee can dish it out pretty good, but when he starts getting hit back hard by an opponent that can punch, Lee falls apart quickly. Brian Vera stopped him and so did Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in the past. Heck, Lee still hasn’t stepped it up after his stoppage loss to Chavez Jr. two years ago in El Paso, Texas. Lee has been taking things very, very slowly since that loss, and has been facing poor 2nd tier opposition. I can understand Lee facing or two fodder opponents, but he’s now faced three weak opponents. It’s been a year and a half since his loss to Chavez Jr., and you have to wonder what’s going on with Lee.
I don’t think HBO should approve Lee as an opponent for Golovkin, because he still hasn’t faced a quality opponent since his loss to Chavez Jr. Lee should have to redeem himself again before getting another title shot, because I don’t consider wins over these obscure fighters as redeeming himself: Anthony Fitzgerald, Darryl Cunningham and Ferenc Hafner.
HBO should be pushing Golovkin to face quality opposition. If Kirkland is pricing himself out, then HBO needs to sweeten the pot by offering more money for the Golovkin-Kirkland fight, because it would be infinitely better to put that fight on then it would a mismatch between Golovkin and Lee. I see that as a step down from Govkin’s fight against Adama rather than a step up.
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