Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (30-0 with 27 KOs) has conquered the East Coast. The West Coast is next.
The knockout artist from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, is taking his show on the road. On Oct. 18 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, Triple G defends his crown against former Mexican middleweight champion Marco Antonio Rubio (59-6-1 with 51 KOs).
The fight is called ?Mexican Style,? less in deference to poetry than to GGG?s kill or be killed ethos, and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing starting at 10:00 PM ET/PT.
?I?m very excited to fight in California,? says Golovkin. ?I always enjoy attending fights at the StubHub Center and look forward to a ?Mexican Style? fight against Marco Antonio Rubio.?
Rubio needs no coaching in the ?Mexican Style.? Hailing from Torrean, Mexico, he is Mexican through and through. He is also one tough hombre.
?I?m excited to fight another world champion,? he says. ?Boxing is my life. I?ve always wanted to fight the best out there. Golovkin right now is considered the best. I always accept the biggest challenges and without a doubt this will be the greatest of my career.?
Golovkin is entering his prime as a fighter. This will be the 12th defense of his middleweight titles. He is going for his 18th knockout in a row.
The same cannot be said about Rubio. At the age of 34, with 66 fights to his credit and after 14 years of fighting, there are questions as to how much he has left. He has won 16 of his last 17 fights, but when he has stepped up he has usually come up short. If he was defeated by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Kelly Pavlik, he?ll lose to Triple G as well.
?You?ve got to go in with a lot of heart and courage,? says Rubio. ?All the guys that fight him have gone in scared. I?m confident I?m not going to be scared. Golovkin can be hit. I?m going to hit him.
?I?ve fought big punchers like Chavez [and Pavlik] … they?ve hit me solid and I?ve stood up. I don?t think Golovkin?s power will faze me.?
We?ll find out whether Golovkin?s power will faze him or not. The smart money says that it will.
