By Barry Holbrook: Next weekend, Gennady Golovkin will be facing Sergiy Derevyanchenko on DAZN for the vacant IBF middleweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fight card will be shown on DAZN starting at 7:00 p.m, ET. The real prize is a possible fight against superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez next May.
Winning the IBF belt means very little for Golovkin. It’s more about whether he wins, looks good, and is able to use the victory to get the trilogy fight against Alvarez. Although Canelo Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KOs) says he’s already beaten GGG twice, there are rumors that he’s going to be facing him next May if he beats Derevyanchenko.
Canelo is already signed to face WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev on November 2. If Canelo loses that contest, he’ll need the GGG trilogy match to help boost his status in the boxing world.
GGG vs. Derevyanchenko undercard:
- Ivan Baranchyk vs. Gabriel Bracero
- Israil Madrimov vs. Alejandro Barrera
- Ali Akhmedov vs. Andrew Hernandez
- Brian Ceballo vs. Javier Flores
- Kamil Szeremeta vs. Oscar Cortes
- Nikita Ababiy vs. Isiah Seldon
- Joseph Ward vs. Marco Delgado
GGG excited about Derevanchenko fight
“Everybody has a chance. First of all, he’s a professional boxer,” said Golovkin to DAZN about Derevyanchenko. “I’m thinking about this fight. I’m not thinking about Canelo. Everyone says, ‘What do you think about Canelo?’ I’m not thinking about him. We had a deal for September 14th. He said, ‘No,’ and so that’s it. He’s done. For business, he said no. This is horrible for boxing,” said GGG about his two controversial losses to Canelo Alvarez.
“Is he really ready? It’s possible. He talks too much, and he talks like a promoter. His promoter talks different, and his manager says different. Right now, I feel different. I’m ready, and I’m so excited,” Golovkin said when asked if he’s ready for Derevyanchenko next Saturday. “
Golovkin to face Szeremeta next?
Kamil Szeremeta (20-0, 4 KOs) being included on the undercard of GGG-Derevyanchenko is a huge hint that he could be the next one for Golovkin to fight if he doesn’t get the Canelo fight. Szeremeta, 29, is the next highest ranked contender in the International Boxing Federation’s top 15 rankings after #1 IBF Derevyanchenko and #3 Golovkin. Szeremeta’s resume is filled with wins over fluff opponents. He would be a step down from Golovkin’s last mismatch against Steve Rolls. It’s a shame that Golovkin is no longer taking on the bigger names.
This will likely be an extremely easy win for Golovkin, but it won’t do anything as far as attracting boxing fans to want to subscribe to DAZN to see him fight. For Golovkin to bring in the subscribers to DAZN, he needs to focus on facing serious opposition like Demetrius Andrade, Callum Smith, Canelo, Caleb Plant, Jermall Charlo, Jermell Charlo, Jarrett Hurd or David Benavidez. Szeremeta would be a similar type of opponent as we saw recently with Tyson Fury taking on Tom Schwarz or Otto Wallin.
🥊💥 #GGGDerevyanchenko pic.twitter.com/kYUQIwLRW7
— Gennadiy Golovkin (@GGGBoxing) September 28, 2019
