Gennady Golovkin, aka God?s gift to the middleweight division, will defend his WBA and IBO titles on February 1 in Monte Carlo?
?I must hurry back to my house and flowers in Monaco.??Lillie Langtry
Gennady Golovkin, aka God?s gift to the middleweight division, will defend his WBA and IBO titles on February 1, 2014, when he takes on Osumanu Adama over a scheduled 12 rounds at Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco, the headline event of the Monte Carlo Night of Champions.
The hard-hitting Kazakh, who fights out of Germany, last won by mere decision 15 fights ago. A seven-year pro, 31-year-old ?GGG? (28-0, 25 KOs) fought twice in 2012, stopping Makoto Fuchigami by third-round TKO in May and Grzegorz Proksa by fifth-round TKO in September, and four times this year, stopping Gabriel Rosado by seventh-round TKO in January, Nobuhiro Ishida by third-round KO in March, which took place in Monaco, Matthew Macklin by third-round KO in June, and retiring Curtis Stevens in the eighth in November.
Adama, who turns 33 this month, is a 12-year ring veteran (22-3, 16 KOs). He faced Daniel Geale for his IBF strap in March 2012, losing by fiercely contested unanimous decision, and fought twice this year, beating Grady Brewer by split decision in March and retiring Doel Carrasquillo in the seventh in July. His other two losses came by way of Dyah Davis in 2009 and Donovan George in 2010, both by unanimous decision.
?This is a fantastic opportunity for me to challenge boxing?s best,? says Adama, a native of Ghana who fights out of the Windy City. ?I?ve already begun training and I will bring the titles with me back to Chicago on February 1.?
Um?no. Adama may be ?a very tough opponent,? as a generous and gracious Golovkin says, and has yet to be stopped. But, to paraphrase The Fabulous Thunderbirds, is he tuff enuff? He is not, thus rendering ?yet? the operative word.
Golovkin by mid-round stoppage.
?Gennady is committed to staying active and fighting the toughest opponents willing to get in the ring with him? (my emphasis), says the fighter?s promoter, Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions.
With that in mind, what?s next for this marvel of the ring, this pugilistic phenomenon who?d ?climb the Empire State, fight Muhammad Ali,? as the aforementioned fab songsters would no doubt put it? Max Bursak, Matt Korobov, Lukas Konecny, Caleb Truax, Marco Antonio Rubio? Ho-hum. No disrespect, but those guys are more or less in the same league as Osumanu ?Machine Gun? Adama?destined to be toothmarks ?pon Golovkin?s glove.
It?s well past time for the leading lights of the middleweight division to step up to the plate?and into the ring. This is especially true of fellow titleholders Darren Barker (IBF), Peter Quillin (WBO), and Sergio Martinez (WBC). Not that Barker or Quillin would have much of a chance, and Martinez is unlikely to get clearance from his geriatrician.
Where does that leave us? Martin Murray? Another mid-round stoppage. Daniel Geale? Ditto. Felix Sturm? Nein! Newly anointed super heavyweight, er, middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.? He?d lose, despite a self-entitled demand that he be allowed to balloon to the weight of Stephane Tessier.
But speaking of super middleweights?Andre Ward? Ah, now that would be a horse of a different weight division. And if you think that?s a hint, Gennady?
