Gennady Golovkin vs. Willie Monroe Jr.: TV Schedule, Start Time, Odds and More

The top headliner in boxing is a fairly obvious call: Floyd Mayweather Jr., who defeated Manny Pacquiao in the fight of the century earlier this month.

But Mayweather, 38, is near the end of his reign. He says he wants to have one more fight before he ends his career. If he wins it against an opponent who has not yet been determined, it would given him a 49-0 record—matching the late Rocky Marciano—and an opportunity to stroll into the history books amid great company.

At that point, Gennady Golovkin (32-0, 29 KOs) may well be in a position to become the sport's No. 1 figure. GGG is an action fighter, and he will put his skills and undefeated record to the test against Willie Monroe Jr. (19-1, 6 KOs) Saturday night when the two get together at Forum in Inglewood, California, for their middleweight championships bout.

The fight will be shown on HBO, and action gets underway at 10 p.m., when undefeated flyweight Roman Gonzalez (42-0) takes on tough Mexican veteran Edgar Sosa (51-8) in the co-main event. The Golovkin-Monroe fight will follow.

The two undefeated fighters are both heavy favorites. According to OddsShark.com, Golovkin opened as a minus-10000 favorite, and bettors interested in supporting him can get him at prices between minus-5,000 and minus-7,500. Monroe supporters can get him at prices between plus-1,400 and plus-2,500.

Gonzalez is a currently a minus-3,000 favorite, while Sosa is a plus-1,100 underdog.

Golovkin has won his last 19 fights by knockout, and that gives him credibility and marketability in the sport. However, he has not faced elite fighters like Canelo Alvarez, Miguel Cotto or Carl Froch to this point. He has pounded excellent fighters like Martin Murray, Marco Antonio Rubio, Curtis Stevens and Matthew Macklin, but they are not in the class of boxing's best.

Those fights are surely coming, but he has to have another strong showing against the left-handed Monroe. Fighting a southpaw will be one more challenge for Golovkin, but he has overcome every challenge he has faced to this point in his career.

Monroe has more going for him than just his southpaw status. He has won nine straight fights, and he was victorious in the "Boxcino" tournament. That victory earned him his date on national television with Golovkin.

Golovkin is not likely to have any fear of Monroe, who has had just six knockouts in his career. Golovkin may be able to turn the lights out on Monroe at any point he decides to wade in and trade punches.

Monroe's trainer Tony Morgan said that he thinks "The Mongoose" has a chance because he has spotted quite a few mistakes in Golovkin's technique. "I think that Golovkin makes a lot of mistakes," Morgan told HBO's Eric Raskin. "I think he's beatable. I think any guy's beatable if you bring the right plan to the table. We're going to capitalize on his mistakes."

Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez showed respect for Monroe, calling him a "slick fighter" with good movement skills. Sanchez believes that if Monroe is at his best, the fight could go five or six rounds before Golovkin's talent takes over.

Prediction: Golovkin has too many weapons and is just too dangerous in this fight. He should be able to unleash his power in the middle rounds and come up with a stoppage by no later than the eighth round.