Gennady Golovkin Looking to Resume Championship Duties at 160
After getting soundly defeated by bitter rival Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (58-2-2, 39KOs) in their trilogy match, unified 160-pound champion Gennady Golovkin (42-2-1, 37KOs) is left to ponder whether he should fight on or hang up the gloves for good. If we’re being honest, the third fight between these two played out as most envisioned it would.
HEADED DOWNHILL
Golovkin, 40, hasn’t looked like the champion we grew accustomed to seeing since the second fight with Alvarez in 2018. While he’s continued to win, the wins weren’t impressive at all. Things seemingly started going downhill when he fought three-time world title challenger Sergey Derevyanchenko back in 2019. Most watching thought Derevyanchenko was the clear winner of that IBF title fight.
In April, against then WBA Super 160-pound champion Ryota Murata, Golovkin got off to a bad start. After getting beaten in the early rounds, his power would ultimately help him stop Murata. Still, with the win, the impression he left on fans and pundits watching was that he was a shell of himself. This obviously carried over to the third Alvarez fight.
STILL MORE TO COME?
In his post-fight press conference, Triple G was asked directly whether or not he would consider retirement considering everything he’s accomplished in the sport of boxing.
“Indeed, I still have this fire burning within me, I have this order and passion for boxing and don’t forget that I have three belts in 160. I feel great. Like I said, I didn’t allow any serious shots and I’m not tired. I’m fresh, I feel the strength, I feel the power within in me and of course, if opportunity comes, I’ll be looking to return on the ring.”
From those comments, it seems as if the unified champ at 160 will return. If he does return, matchups with WBC champ Jermall Charlo and WBO champ Janibek Alimkhanuly are there and present him with the chance to become undisputed at 160.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
