Gennadiy Golovkin to face Kamil Szeremeta in RISKY fight in March

By Boxing News - 01/20/2020 - Comments

By Barry Holbrook: Gennadiy Golovkin is expected back inside the ring on March 28 to defend his newly won IBF 160-lb strap against mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta in a fight that could be taking place on DAZN in Chicago, Illinois.

In more ways that one, this could prove to be a mistake for Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) to defend his IBF title against the tough as nails Szeremeta (21-0, 5 KOs).

These are the reasons why it’s a mistake for GGG to take this fight:

  • Golovkin won’t receive credit from fans for beating Szeremeta. Casual boxing fans have never heard of the Polish fighter, and they’re not going to shower Gennadiy with praise if he beats him. On the other side of the spectrum, the hardcore fans aren’t impressed with the 30-year-old Szeremeta with his professional record filled with wins over no names. They note that Szeremeta’s KO percentage is a lowly 23, which suggests that he can’t punch. In other words, they see Szeremeta as a safe soft job for Golovkin.
  • DAZN subscriptions for the Golovkin-Szeremeta might not be high due to the fans being unfamiliar with Szeremeta. This is NOT a fight that the fans are asking Golovkin for. They don’t want to see GGG face Szeremeta. For DAZN, it’s got to be tough, because they’re paying Golovkin a lot of money. For him to fight Szeremeta instead of Canelo Alvarez, Jermall Charlo or Demetrius Andrade, it’s got to be a disappointment.
  • If Golovkin loses or if he struggles to beat Szeremeta, he’s going to look bad in the eyes of the boxing public. There’s already a lot of fans out there who see GGG as a shot fighter, and many of them think he’s looking for a CASH OUT against Canelo before retiring.

Some fans think Golovkin should vacate the IBF belt, and focus on fighting the talented fighters at 160 and 168.

Unfortunately, the IBF middleweight strap wasn’t an easy title for GGG to win. He had to battle hard in defeating Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs) in winning a highly suspect 12 round unanimous decision on October 5 last year at Madison Square Garden in New York. The 2008 Ukrainian Olympian Derevyanchenko out-hustled Golovkin every step of the way, outworked and hurt him numerous times with body shots

The technical skills that Derevyanchenko showed in that fight were amazing. He looked like he was in a different class than Golovkin, and that’s putting it lightly. In a lot of ways, Derevyanchenko did a far better job against Golovkin than Saul Canelo Alvarez in his two fights with the Kazakhstan star.

At the end of the Golovkin-Derevyanchenko fight, the Madison Square Garden fans didn’t agree with the decision when the scores were read by the announcer. They let Golovkin and the judges know how upset they were by booing loudly from the time the results were announced until GGG left the ring. It shocking to see, and even more surprising that Golovkin isn’t giving Derevyanchenko an immediate rematch to clear up the controversy.

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