Golovkin, Dzinziruk vs Gonzalez HBO Show Pushed to Sept. 1

The scheduled August 25 HBO boxing show featuring Gennady Golovkin in the main event and a co-feature bout between Sergiy Dzinziruk and Jonathan Gonzalez has been pushed back to September 1.

Golovkin (23-0, 20 KO) was originally supposed to face Dmitry Pirog, but the Russian pulled out of the fight on July 5 with a back injury suffered in training, which seemed to make sense as the fight was almost too good to be true. The 30-year-old Golovkin is considered both a rising star and an established top fighter at 160 pounds, as the division has until recently largely featured its "top fighters" facing inadequate challenges, something both Golovkin and Pirog have been guilty of in their recent fights.

With Pirog out, there still has been no substitute opponent named, but there are plenty of guys at 160 pounds (or 154) who would make sense. One name mentioned was Vanes Martirosyan, but he's going to be facing Erislandy Lara in a WBC 154-pound eliminator instead.

The co-feature fight is happening because HBO owes Dzinziruk (37-1, 24 KO) a fight after he lost to Sergio Martinez in March 2011. That's his last fight to date. Gonzalez (15-0, 13 KO) is a decent Puerto Rican prospect who has already had some decent wins over the likes of Billy Lyell and Richard Gutierrez, but if Dzinziruk is in shape, this is a big leap.

The fight was scheduled to take place at the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin, Nev., but that may no longer be the case. Golovkin holds the WBA's "regular" middleweight title, while "super" titleholder Felix Sturm is also in action on September 1, facing IBF titlist Daniel Geale in Germany.