By Ken Hissner: From 2010 to 2023, Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin held titles in the WBA, IBF, WBC, and IBO at Middleweight. He vacated the WBA and IBF titles this year.
His record is at 42-2-1 with 37 stoppages, along with some 20 defenses. He once had a 23-straight stoppage streak. His status is unknown at this time, whether active or retired at age 41.
Golovkin was 33-6 per box rec in the amateurs, losing to Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov from Russia in the finals of the 2004 Olympics. Gaydarbekov never fought again.
Golovkin turned professional in May of 2006, winning his first seventeen fights before winning his first title. He knocked out John Anderson Carvalho de Souza, 19-3-1, of Brazil, for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title in July of 2009.
Two fights later, Golovkin won the WBA Interim title, stopping Milton ‘El Misel’ Nunez, 21-1-1, in the first round in Panama City.
In his next fight, he won the WBA World middleweight title, stopping Nilson ‘Blade’ Tapia, 14-2-1, in December of 2010. In his next fight, he stopped Kassim Ouma, 27-7-1, then added the vacant IBO World title, knocking out Lajuan Simon, 23-3-2, in Germany.
In September of 2012, Golovkin made his USA debut stropping Poland’s Grzegorz Proksa, 28-1, at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, improving to 24-0.
I was in attendance when he was stopping Philly’s Gabe Rosado, 21-5, in January of 2013 in New York. In October of 2014, he added the WBC Interim title by stopping Marco Antonio Rubio, 59-6-1, in Carson, CA.
In September of 2016, Golovkin added the WBC title, stopping Kell Brook, 36-0, in London, UK, improving to 36-0. His twenty three straight stoppage streak ended when he defeated Danny Jacobs, 32-1, at Madison Square Garden.
In September of 2017, Golovkin, 37-0, was held to a highly disputed draw by WBO Super Welterweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, 49-1-1. He chased him for the last seven rounds.
A fair decision, and you might be asked, Canelo who? Instead, in their next fight, Golovkin, instead of continuing as a puncher in their rematch, decided to be a boxer-puncher, losing for the first time to Alvarez, whose promotion refused to give him a rematch for some four years.
In between those four years, Golovkin stopped Steve Rolls, 19-0, and re-won the vacant WBA and IBO titles, defeating Sergiy Derevyanchenko, 13-1. Then he stopped Kamil Szeremeta, 21-0, in December of 2020. Then he traveled to Japan, adding the WBA title, stopping Ryota Murata, 16-2.
In September of 2022, Golovkin, 42-2-1, lost to Alvarez, 57-2-2, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 twice. Has it been the end of the line for Golovkin? He is certainly going to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame one way or another!
