By Aragon Garcia: Gennady Golovkin took a beating on Saturday night and made to look like a mere mortal by Sergiy Derevyanchenko in their scrap for the vacant IBF middleweight title on DAZN. In the end, the 3 judges gave Golovkin the victory by a 12 round unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Derevyanchenko’s body shots had a notable effect on Golovkin. They forced him to back up, and circle the ring.
The crowd at ringside overruled the judges, letting them know in mass that it was Derevyanchenko that deserved the decision win.
Golovkin says he’s ready to give rematch to Derevyanchenko
After the match was over, Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) halfheartedly said he would give Derevyanchenko a rematch, but in his next breath, he said he wants Canelo Alvarez fight.
“Rematch? Absolutely. Big fight for DAZN, for the people, of course I’m ready. I’m a boxer, I’m ready for anything,” said GGG.
Golovkin’s promoter Eddie Hearn said after the fight that Derevyanchenko isn’t the match that they want. Hearn said Canelo is the fight, and if not him, then one of these guys: Billy Joe Saunders, Demetrius Andrade or Callum Smith.
Golovkin: I still want Canelo Alvarez fight
“Absolutely I still want Canelo, I’m just open to anybody. There are so many great champions here,” said Golovkin. “Sergiy, a lot of guys. Everything is ready, just call Canelo. If he says yes, let’s do it.”
It’s not going to work for Golovkin to push for a Canelo rematch. After Golovkin’s performance tonight against Derevyanchenko, he probably pushed Canelo away permanently. It doesn’t matter that GGG won the IBF middleweight title. It’s a title that only means something when it’s won in a clear fashion.
That belt is tainted from the controversy surrounding the results of the fight. Canelo hasn’t commented yet on the results of the Golovkin vs. Derevyanchenko fight, but you can bet that when he does finally speak up, he’s going to let GGG know that he thought he lost, and that there’s no point in him fighting him a third time.
There’s no value add to a third fight with Golovkin. So instead of Golovkin asking Canelo to fight him, he needs to fight Derevyanchenko in a rematch. If Golovkin doesn’t want that fight, which seems to be the case, then he needs to fight one of his promoter Eddie Hearn’s fighters. Hearn wants Golovkin to fight these guys one by one:
- Callum Smith
- Demetrius Andrade
- Billy Joe Saunders
Derevyanchenko asks Golovkin for a rematch
“I would like the rematch if it’s possible, I’m ready,” said Derevyanchenko.
The shots that Derevyanchenko was hitting Golovkin with in the fight had him wilting in rounds 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11. Derevyanchenko hurt Golovkin in each of those rounds, and had him backing up. Golovkin normally doesn’t back away from his opponents, but tonight he was trying his hardest to flee.
One of the best fights I’ve seen live! Respect to two absolute warriors!!! #GGGDerevyancheًnko @DAZN_USA @SkySportsBoxing 🔥
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) October 6, 2019