Gennady Golovkin

Gennady Golovkin Геннадий Головкин
Golovkin in 2013
Born	Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin (1982-04-08) 8 April 1982 Karagandy, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (now Kazakhstan)
Nationality	Kazakhstani
Other names	Golden Boy GGG (Triple G) God of War
Statistics
Weight(s)	Middleweight
Height	5 ft 10+1⁄2 in (1.79 m)
Reach	70 in (178 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	34
Wins	34
Wins by KO	31
Losses	0
Medal record Men's boxing Representing Kazakhstan Olympic Games 2004 Athens Middleweight World Championships 2003 Bangkok Middleweight Asian Games 2002 Busan Light middleweight Asian Championships 2004 Puerto Princesa Middleweight

Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin (Template:Lang-kz; born 8 April 1982) is a Kazakhstani professional boxer and the current unified WBA (Super), IBF, IBO and interim WBC middleweight champion. BoxRec currently ranks him as the world's number one middleweight, and number two pound for pound. The Ring magazine ranks him as the third best boxer in the world and named him Fighter of the Year in 2013.

An aggressive, counterpunching pressure fighter, Golovkin is highly skilled in taking away his opponent's jab and cuts off the ring exceptionally well. He holds the highest knockout percentage – 91.2% – in middleweight championship history and is said to have one of the hardest chins in modern boxing, having never been knocked down or knocked out in over 375 fights, both as a professional and amateur, or in sparring. As an amateur Golovkin represented Kazakhstan at the 2004 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in the middleweight division. In 2003, he won gold at the World Amateur Boxing Championships.

Early life

Gennady Golovkin was born on April 8, 1982, in the city of Karagandy in the Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union as one of four brothers to a Russian father who was a coal miner, and a Korean mother who was an assistant in a chemical laboratory. His older brothers, Sergey and Vadim, had pushed him into the ring. When he was eight, both of them joined the Soviet Army.

"My brothers, they were doing that from when I was in kindergarten," Golovkin said. "Every day, different guys."

Amateur boxing

He was a scholarship holder with the Olympic Solidarity program since November 2002.

At the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok, he won the gold medal beating future two-time champion Matvey Korobov (RUS) 19:10, Andy Lee (29:9), Lucian Bute (stoppage), Yordanis Despaigne in the semi-finals (29:26) and Oleg Mahskin in the finals.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics he beat Ramadan Yasser Abdelghafar 31 – 20 and Andre Dirrell 23 – 18, lost to the Russian Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov 18 -28 and won the silver medal. He qualified for the Athens Games by winning the gold medal at the 2004 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Puerto Princesa, Philippines. In the final he defeated home fighter Christopher Camat.

At the world championships 2005 he sensationally lost to Mohamed Hikal. He finished his amateur career with an outstanding record of 345-5.

Amateur highlights

• 2000 won the Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary as a Light Welterweight. Results were:
  • Defeated Hao Yen Kuo (Chinese Taipei) RSC-3
  • Defeated Alexander Renz (Germany) PTS (26-7)
  • Defeated Benjamin Kalinovic (Croatia) PTS (21-10)
  • Defeated Evgeni Putilov (Russia) PTS (24-10)
  • Defeated Maikel Perez (Cuba) PTS (30-17)
• 2002 won the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea as a Light Middleweight. Results were:
  • Defeated Abdullah Shekib (Afghanistan) AB-1
  • Defeated Nagimeldin Adam (Qatar) RSCO-1
  • Defeated Song In Joon (South Korea) PTS (18-12)
  • Defeated Suriya Prasathinpimai (Thailand) RSCO-3
• 2003 won the World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand as a Middleweight. Results were:
  • Defeated Matvey Korobov (Russia) PTS (19-10)
  • Defeated Andy Lee (Ireland) PTS (29-9)
  • Defeated Lucian Bute (Romania) KO-4
  • Defeated Yordanis Despaigne (Cuba) PTS (29-26)
  • Defeated Oleg Mashkin (Ukraine) RSCI-2
• 2004 Middleweight Olympic Silver Medalist as a member of the Kazakhstani Olympic Team. His results were:
  • Defeated Ali Ahmed Khan (Pakistan) 31-10
  • Defeated Ramadan Yasser (Egypt) 31-20
  • Defeated Andre Dirrell (USA) 23-18
  • Lost to Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov (Russia) 18-28

Professional boxing

Contracted to Universum

After ending his amateur career in 2005 Golovkin signed a professional deal with the Universum Box-Promotion (UBP) and made his professional debut in May 2006. By the end of 2008 Golovkin's record stood at 14-0 (11) and whilst his best win was over Ian Gardner it was obvious that he had the talent to reach the top as long he was let off the proverbial leash. Unfortunately under Universum that didn't seem likely to happen any time soon and Golovkin was given 4 more relatively easy bouts in 2009. In 2010 Universum started to run in to financial issues after having been dropped by German television channel ZDF. This caused a number of issues for Golovkin who was effectively unable to fight in Germany, and contract disputes between the two parties got complicated.

Golovkin terminated his contract with Universum in January 2010, stating in an interview "The reason for this decision is that I've always been placed behind Felix Sturm and Sebastian Zbik by Universum. Our demands to fight against Felix Sturm or Sabastian Zbik have been always rejected on absurd grounds. Universum had no real plan or concept for me, they did not even try to bring my career forward. They would rather try to prevent me from winning a title as long as Sturm and Zbik are champions. Further more, bouts against well-known and interesting opponents were held out in prospect, but nothing happened. This situation was not acceptable. It was time to move forward."

Signing with K2 and training with Abel Sanchez

Golovkin was determined to become a worldwide name, dreaming of following in the Klitschko brothers' footsteps by fighting in Madison Square Garden and Staples Center. He signed with K2 and went into training in Big Bear, Calif., with Abel Sanchez, the veteran trainer behind Hall of Famer Terry Norris and many other top talents. Sanchez was stunned by and impressed with Golovkin's talent and attitude from their first meeting. He has since then worked to add Mexican-style aggression to Golovkin's Kazakh-style amateur discipline, thereby producing a formidable hybrid champion. "I have a chalkboard in the gym, and I wrote Ali's name, Floyd Mayweather's name and his name," Sanchez said. "I told him, 'You could be right there.' He was all sheepish, but once I felt his hands, and I saw how smart he was in the ring and how he caught on... sheesh. He's going to be the most-avoided fighter in boxing, or he's going to get the chance he deserves."

Fighting in the United States

Golovkin vs. Proksa

Distant view of Golovkin fighting against Gabriel Rosado at Madison Square Garden in January 2013.

Golovkin put on an impressive performance in his American debut by battering The Ring's No. 10 Rated Middleweight Grzegorz Proksa(28-1, 21 KO). Golovkin's fifth-round TKO was Proksa's first loss by knockout. In October when Super WBA Middleweight Champion Daniel Geale signed to fight Anthony Mundine in a rematch, the WBA stripped Geale of the title and named Golovkin the sole WBA champion at middleweight.

Golovkin vs. Rosado

Golovkin followed up his Proksa win with a TKO victory over The Ring's No. 9 Rated Jr. Middleweight Gabriel Rosado(21-5 13 KO) on the HBO Salido-Garcia card in the co-main event. The fight was halted when Rosado's corner threw in the towel to save Rosado, who was battered and bleeding heavily from his nose and left eye.

Golovkin vs. Ishida

On 30 March 2013 Golovkin became the first to knock out former WBA interim super welterweight champion Nobuhiro Ishida(24-8-2, 9 KO), finishing him in the third round with a vicious overhand right.

Golovkin vs. Stevens

On November 2, 2013, he successfully defended his titles against The Ring's No. 9 Rated Middleweight Curtis Stevens(25-3, 18 KO) via an eighth-round technical knockout, methodically breaking down the latter with many ferocious punches to the head and body. Stevens went down hard in the 2nd from two left hooks to the head, and after watching their fighter absorb enormous punishment Stevens' corner called for a halt in the 8th. The event captured huge interest around the world, with it being broadcast in more than 100 countries worldwide, including SKY in the United Kingdom, Channel 1 in Russia and Polsat TV in Poland. The win was Golovkin's 15th straight stoppage victory and further cemented his status as one of the greatest finishers in the middleweight division.

Golovkin's camp requested that he be awarded the WBA (Super) Middleweight title in December 2013, but this was refused by the WBA, as Golovkin was already granted special permission for a fight prior to his mandatory commitment.

Golovkin vs. Adama

Golovkin's tenth title defense took place in Monte Carlo on February 1, 2014, against former title challenger Osumanu Adama (22-3, 16KO), which he won by seventh round stoppage. At the end of the 1st round, Golovkin dropped Adama with a solid jab and right hand. Golovkin went on to drop Adama again in the 6th by landing two sharp left hooks to his head, and then again in the 7th with a hard jab. Golovkin then nailed Adama with a left hook to the jaw, sending Adama staggering and forcing the referee to stop the bout.

The WBA (Super) Middleweight Title

On June 3, 2014, after ten successful title defenses, the World Boxing Association officially elevated Golovkin from Middleweight champion to (Super) champion. Golovkin was also granted a special permission to defend his title against Daniel Geale. Golovkin had been previously ordered to face No. 2 Jarrod Fletcher.

Golovkin vs. Geale

On July 26, 2014, Golovkin defended his title for the 11th time, defeating The Ring's #2-rated Middleweight Daniel Geale via a third round stoppage. Golovkin dropped Geale in the second round. A right hand in the third sent Geale down again from which he never recovered completely. A staggering Geale prompted a swift stoppage from referee Michael Ortega. Geale's defeat started from a stiff Golovkin Jab, according to GGG's trainer Abel Sanchez. The accuracy of punches by both fighters were at the 29% mark by Compubox, but the effectiveness of those that connected resulted in a noteworthy win for Golovkin in his record.

Golovkin vs. Murray

On February 21, 2015, Golovkin defended his middleweight titles in Monte Carlo against British fighter Martin Murray, who had recently defeated Nobuhiro Ishida and Osumanu Adama. Martin Murray started the fight off well defensively, but by the fourth round Golovkin began to heat up and started finding Murray consistently, eventually knocking him down twice in round 4. Golovkin then found it much easier to land his punches on Murray in the middle-rounds, although Murray's chin withstood a lot of Golovkin punches in those middle-rounds, he eventually went down again in round 10 after sustaining a lot of punishment.

Murray came out for round 11 and therefore had lasted longer in the ring with Golovkin than any other of his opponents so far, although Murray came out with a bloodied countenance and Golovkin continued to connect with shots, the referee stopped the bout as he felt Murray was not fighting back effectively and had taken too many punches.

Golovkin's victory over Murray was his 13th consecutive successful title defense, placing him third all-time in consecutive middleweight title defenses behind Bernard Hopkins (19) and Carlos Monzón (14).

Golovkin vs. Lemieux

Main article: Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux

Golovkin defeated David Lemieux via eighth round technical knockout on October 17, 2015, at Madison Square Garden to unify his WBA (Super), IBO, and WBC Interim Middleweight titles with Lemieux's IBF title. Golovkin established the pace with his jab while landing his power shots in between – keeping Lemieux off-balance the entire night. Lemieux was dropped by a body shot in the fifth round, and then was badly staggered in the eighth, forcing the referee to halt the bout. With this 21st consecutive knockout victory, Golovkin passed Monzón for most consecutive middleweight title defenses with 15.

Golovkin mandatory contender for WBC middleweight title

Following Saúl Álvarez's victory against Miguel Cotto, talks began between the Golovkin and Alvarez camps over the future WBC title defense. In the end, an agreement was reached to allow interim bouts before the fight as to, in the words of WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, "maximize the interest in their highly anticipated showdown." The fight is expected to take place well into 2016.

Personal life

In 2006 Golovkin moved from his native Kazakhstan to Stuttgart, Germany, and then in late 2014 to Los Angeles, California, where he currently lives with his family. He trains in Big Bear, California. He and his wife Alina have a son, Vadim, who is in primary school. Golovkin speaks four languages: Kazakh, German, Russian and English. His fraternal twin brother, Maxim, a talented amateur boxer, joined Gennady's camp and team in 2012.

Titles in boxing

Major world titles:

• WBA interim middleweight champion (160 lbs)
• WBA middleweight champion
• WBA (Super) middleweight champion
• WBC interim middleweight champion
• IBF middleweight champion

Minor world titles:

• IBO middleweight champion

Regional/international titles:

• WBO Inter-Continental middleweight champion

Pay-per-view bouts

Date	Fight	Billing	Buys	Network
October 17, 2015	Golovkin vs. Lemiux	Golovkin vs. Lemieux	150,000	HBO

External links

• Boxing record for Gennady Golovkin from BoxRec (registration required)
• bio – file interview w/ Gennady Golovkin
• sports-reference
• Gennady Golovkin on Twitter
• Gennady Golovkin on Facebook
• Official website