Golden Boy responds to Gennady Golovkin saying he was insulted in negotiations

Gennady Golovkin is a bit of a different animal these days, in that he’s a bit more assertive, a bit more willing to throw down some outside the ring.

In years past, you wouldn’t ever see or hear the Kazakh hitter talk smack, or really offer too much besides boilerplate niceties.

It was part of his charm; ass-kicker inside the ring, and outside the ring, as inoffensive as you’d find.

And not that he’s offensive now, but the middleweight ace will throw the odd power punch in talking to media. He’s just more assertive now, by and large. Last week, he made it clear that he didn’t like media stalking him in their cars while doing road work, and then today, we saw his statement busting on Golden Boy for their treatment of him in the lead-up to this sequel scrap with Canelo Alavarez.

Did you ever worry that this rematch might not happen, GGG was asked. How close were you to moving on to another opponent?

“Of course I wanted the rematch to happen but it was never a worry for me if it did or did not happen,” Golovkin answered. “That is because after Canelo failed two random drug tests in February everything changed.

“After I beat Vanes Martirosyan on May 5, I authorized my promoter Tom Loeffler to begin a new negotiation for the rematch with Canelo. Canelo and Golden Boy Promotions assumed I would fight under the terms of the May 5 rematch and they were unhappy when I gave them my terms.

“What they refused to admit was that it was their side that changed everything once Canelo failed his drug tests. That was their fault not mine. My team and I treat everyone we do business with on a professional level. Whether we agree or disagree we show respect.

“But Golden Boy decided that they would share my proposal with the media and insult me every day. I guess they thought the media, the event partners, and the fans would agree with them and put pressure on me to accept their terms. It did not make a difference to me. It did not make a difference to the fans, they just wanted to see the fight. I knew what I wanted. I knew what was fair. So it was easy to deal with Golden Boy. I did not care what others thought. I am the champion. Canelo was the challenger. If they wanted the rematch, this time it would be on my terms.”

So, you have GGG sayng GBP insulted him. No, not smack talking at all — but yes, he’s asserting himself, not being as willing to purely be the nice guy. Maybe he’s getting older, wiser, maybe the politics of the sport are affecting him, giving him a slightly saltier edge.

I reached out to Golden Boy executive Eric Gomez, to get his take on GGG’s slap at the company. His reply?

“He didn’t get his terms.”

Yeah, no real love lost or found between these two sides, no great surprise with all the water under that bridge. It will all get sorted out proper, September 15.

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