When news hit that Gennady Golovkin would face Steve Rolls in GGG’s DAZN debut on June 8, the reaction wasn’t ... great.
That’s probably putting it nicely.
Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KO) is, after all, a former middleweight titleholder, long considered one of the top fighters in the sport today, coming off of a hotly debated and hard-fought loss to Canelo Alvarez last September.
Steve Rolls, meanwhile, is 19-0 (10 KO), but the 35-year-old Canadian veteran hasn’t been on anyone’s radar. He’s ranked No. 96 in the world by BoxRec at middleweight. He’s fought his last couple of bouts at super middleweight, which is one of the reasons for the 164-pound catchweight for the GGG fight. And his best wins are over the likes of Demond Nicholson and KeAndrae Leatherwood.
In other words, Rolls is seen as someone that Golovkin is going to steamroll.
But after today’s presser to officially announce the fight, Golovkin put out word on social media that it doesn’t matter what anyone else says, it’s up to the fighters in the ring.
It doesn’t matter who says what but it is gonna be me against him in the ring and the strongest man will win. And it’s going to be a good fight!
— Gennady Golovkin (@GGGBoxing) April 22, 2019
Don’t miss it on June 8th. @dazn_usa @TheGarden
Tickets are available now ⬇️https://t.co/i9CdpdeeJF pic.twitter.com/X716wR9L5i
So that’s what Gennady said, that it’s a good fight.
I doubt he’s convinced anyone to change their mind, however. At best, people are going to take this as a stay-busy fight while Golovkin angles for a third bout with Canelo. At worst, a miserable mismatch that maybe shouldn’t be happening at all.