Gennady Golovkin and What it Means to be a Superstar in Boxing
Gennady Golovkin and What it Means to be a Superstar in Boxing
Why isn't Gennady Golovkin a superstar yet?
By Patrick Connor
With both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao all but fleeing the sport within months of one another, boxing may have to redefine the term "superstar." At one point, it would have never been attached to a fighter yet to headline a major pay-per-view and certainly not to one who isn't the lineal champion in his division.
To old school fans, it might feel hyperbolic to slap the label onto Gennady Golovkin right now. But boxing is changing, and his narrative is unfolding very rapidly in that direction.
Golovkin's a Kazakhstani Olympian promoted by a company owned by Ukrainians, and he sells thousands of tickets on both coasts of the U.S. Perhaps the label is unimportant, because he simply can't be ignored at this point. Now the question is whether or not he'll soon be able accomplish enough to justify the fanfare.
According to his promoters, "GGG" could manage to entice over 15,000 spectators to The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. against Dominic Wade this weekend. When added to the over 12,000 who saw Golovkin there against Willie Monroe, Jr. last year, and the 9,000 who watched as he made short work of Marco Antonio Rubio in nearby Carson, it means one of sports' biggest markets, Southern California, has embraced the goofy slugger.
Golovkin isn't quite mainstream yet, but not for lack of effort and promotion. His Apple Watch commercial last year turned more than a few heads, and signing with the Jordan brand is a massive endorsement. Few brands are as big as Apple and Nike, yet Golovkin isn't even the second-biggest draw in the 154- and 160-pound divisions; Miguel Cotto and "Canelo" Alvarez do as well or better at the gate and are good for far more Pay-Per-View buys.
In a few weeks Golovkin will complete his 10th year as a professional fighter, and assuming he defeats Wade, his record will improve to 35-0. But despite having been on U.S. television for almost four years, Golovkin still lacks a signature win. As of now it is unclear whether or not that will ever matter to a paying audience since knockout artists are easier to forgive than defensive fighters.
That Golovkin's record has no big names may not even be his fault; it seems many of the names from 154 to 168 pounds banked on Golovkin either getting really popular, thus capable of bringing more money to the table, or really old. Nobody likes the prospect of facing a skilled puncher with a high knockout ratio for less money than a safer opponent might offer, and in Golovkin's case proof of that goes back a few years.
In 2013, when then-middlewight champion Sergio Martinez appeared ready to accept a challenge from Golovkin, the Argentinian's handlers Lou DiBella and Sampson Lewkowicz insisted that Martinez would never face such a dangerous foe. So Cotto stepped in and nabbed the title in 2014, destroying Martinez in the process before taking a year off. To force a fight, Golovkin picked up the interim version of Cotto's WBC belt by making quick work of Marco Antonio Rubio, thereby becoming Cotto's mandatory challenger. But Golovkin was paid $800,000 to step aside so Canelo could tangle with Cotto last November. Golovkin may actually be the best fighter in the division, but Canelo's victory over Cotto anointed him lineal middleweight champion in addition to the biggest draw in boxing.
Two weeks after Golovkin vs Wade, Canelo defends the title against Amir Khan. Despite being a commanding favorite over the smaller challenger, Canelo's popularity is such that a potential mismatch is still the biggest fight of the year so far. Oddly enough Golovkin has been also been a favorite in all of his notable fights. But in his biggest fight to date, over 20,000 packed into Madison Square Garden to watch a heavily favored Golovkin hand David Lemieux a beating. It was the Lemieux fight that also demonstrated the limits of Golovkin's appeal, as the bout sold only 150,000 PPV buys.
Barring a surprising increase in popularity Golovkin can't call the shots and must wait whether he wants to or not. But for a 34-year-old with a physical, aggressive style waiting much longer for a big fight becomes riskier with each passing day. Even if Golovkin's approach is more cerebral than the average puncher, his desire to ruin opponents means he regularly takes lumps in fights and it's unlikely to last.
On the other hand Canelo has the money and time to wait out a Golovkin showdown. Thus far Golovkin's response to his inability to land a big fight is to collect all the belts he can, but the value of alphabet belts in boxing is ever-fluctuating and rarely concrete. Additionally the World Boxing Council has repeatedly favored Alvarez.
The waiting game might be one Golovkin can't win. He's managed to sell nicely on both coasts of the U.S., yes, and his drawing power on HBO grows with almost every outing. But exactly what his ability is worth in 2016 isn't clear. If huge numbers are generally only attainable by selling PPVs to a general public that only tunes in for a Mayweather or Pacquiao, then nearly everything else is relegated to the usual boxing niche.
In some ways boxing is entering unfamiliar territory as more and more people have access to a product that is often deeply flawed. If fairness counted for anything, Golovkin would have gotten a crack at one of three champions that have breezed by in the last three years. But injustice could be far worse than earning splendid paydays for ridding the middleweight division of all its serfs.
Still the clock keeps ticking for the middleweight marauder. His brand of extreme violence is easy on the eyes and likely to keep propelling him upward, but there's a ceiling somewhere and it draws closer with time.
With both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao all but fleeing the sport within months of one another, boxing may have to redefine the term "superstar." At one point, it would have never been attached to a fighter yet to headline a major pay-per-view and certainly not to one who isn't the lineal champion in his division.
To old school fans, it might feel hyperbolic to slap the label onto Gennady Golovkin right now. But boxing is changing, and his narrative is unfolding very rapidly in that direction.
Golovkin's a Kazakhstani Olympian promoted by a company owned by Ukrainians, and he sells thousands of tickets on both coasts of the U.S. Perhaps the label is unimportant, because he simply can't be ignored at this point. Now the question is whether or not he'll soon be able accomplish enough to justify the fanfare.
According to his promoters, "GGG" could manage to entice over 15,000 spectators to The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. against Dominic Wade this weekend. When added to the over 12,000 who saw Golovkin there against Willie Monroe, Jr. last year, and the 9,000 who watched as he made short work of Marco Antonio Rubio in nearby Carson, it means one of sports' biggest markets, Southern California, has embraced the goofy slugger.
Golovkin isn't quite mainstream yet, but not for lack of effort and promotion. His Apple Watch commercial last year turned more than a few heads, and signing with the Jordan brand is a massive endorsement. Few brands are as big as Apple and Nike, yet Golovkin isn't even the second-biggest draw in the 154- and 160-pound divisions; Miguel Cotto and "Canelo" Alvarez do as well or better at the gate and are good for far more Pay-Per-View buys.
In a few weeks Golovkin will complete his 10th year as a professional fighter, and assuming he defeats Wade, his record will improve to 35-0. But despite having been on U.S. television for almost four years, Golovkin still lacks a signature win. As of now it is unclear whether or not that will ever matter to a paying audience since knockout artists are easier to forgive than defensive fighters.
That Golovkin's record has no big names may not even be his fault; it seems many of the names from 154 to 168 pounds banked on Golovkin either getting really popular, thus capable of bringing more money to the table, or really old. Nobody likes the prospect of facing a skilled puncher with a high knockout ratio for less money than a safer opponent might offer, and in Golovkin's case proof of that goes back a few years.
In 2013, when then-middlewight champion Sergio Martinez appeared ready to accept a challenge from Golovkin, the Argentinian's handlers Lou DiBella and Sampson Lewkowicz insisted that Martinez would never face such a dangerous foe. So Cotto stepped in and nabbed the title in 2014, destroying Martinez in the process before taking a year off. To force a fight, Golovkin picked up the interim version of Cotto's WBC belt by making quick work of Marco Antonio Rubio, thereby becoming Cotto's mandatory challenger. But Golovkin was paid $800,000 to step aside so Canelo could tangle with Cotto last November. Golovkin may actually be the best fighter in the division, but Canelo's victory over Cotto anointed him lineal middleweight champion in addition to the biggest draw in boxing.
Two weeks after Golovkin vs Wade, Canelo defends the title against Amir Khan. Despite being a commanding favorite over the smaller challenger, Canelo's popularity is such that a potential mismatch is still the biggest fight of the year so far. Oddly enough Golovkin has been also been a favorite in all of his notable fights. But in his biggest fight to date, over 20,000 packed into Madison Square Garden to watch a heavily favored Golovkin hand David Lemieux a beating. It was the Lemieux fight that also demonstrated the limits of Golovkin's appeal, as the bout sold only 150,000 PPV buys.
Barring a surprising increase in popularity Golovkin can't call the shots and must wait whether he wants to or not. But for a 34-year-old with a physical, aggressive style waiting much longer for a big fight becomes riskier with each passing day. Even if Golovkin's approach is more cerebral than the average puncher, his desire to ruin opponents means he regularly takes lumps in fights and it's unlikely to last.
On the other hand Canelo has the money and time to wait out a Golovkin showdown. Thus far Golovkin's response to his inability to land a big fight is to collect all the belts he can, but the value of alphabet belts in boxing is ever-fluctuating and rarely concrete. Additionally the World Boxing Council has repeatedly favored Alvarez.
The waiting game might be one Golovkin can't win. He's managed to sell nicely on both coasts of the U.S., yes, and his drawing power on HBO grows with almost every outing. But exactly what his ability is worth in 2016 isn't clear. If huge numbers are generally only attainable by selling PPVs to a general public that only tunes in for a Mayweather or Pacquiao, then nearly everything else is relegated to the usual boxing niche.
In some ways boxing is entering unfamiliar territory as more and more people have access to a product that is often deeply flawed. If fairness counted for anything, Golovkin would have gotten a crack at one of three champions that have breezed by in the last three years. But injustice could be far worse than earning splendid paydays for ridding the middleweight division of all its serfs.
Still the clock keeps ticking for the middleweight marauder. His brand of extreme violence is easy on the eyes and likely to keep propelling him upward, but there's a ceiling somewhere and it draws closer with time.