Gennady Golovkin's Next Fight: Trainer Abel Sanchez Eyes Tureano Johnson
Gennady “GGG” Golovkin may be back in the ring as early as February, with suggestions coming from his camp that he could go up against highly rated middleweight Tureano Johnson next year.
Johnson beat Eamonn O’Kane on Saturday to become the mandatory challenger for the IBF Middleweight Championship, which is held by Golovkin after his emphatic victory over David Lemieux later on the same card. The 31-year-old Johnson said after his win that he’s ready to face off against the rampant Kazakh as soon as possible, per Dan Ambrose of BoxingNews24.com:
"When that opportunity comes, you won’t be disappointed. I will definitely bring it and give all I can. I ain’t just going to fight Triple G for fighting’s sake. I’m going to beat Triple G. I hope you all enjoy it.
We’re going to make that happen. I definitely see a lot of things I can capitalise on when I watched David Lemieux and Triple G tonight. You guys saw what I did tonight. Yes, I have a better Mexican style than Triple G. I’ve got a cast iron chin, and it has been tested. Has Triple G been tested?
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Golovkin turned in the most impressive performance of his professional career so far against Lemieux. The Kazakh dominated the early rounds with his thunderous jab, keeping his opponent at bay. From there, he had a foundation to pick powerful shots and eventually put Lemieux out of his misery in Round 8, when the referee stopped the lopsided scrap.
As Steve Kim of UCNLive suggested, the performance from Golovkin was about more than brute power and big punches, which is what some boxing fans reduced him to previously:
His trainer, Abel Sanchez, has insisted that he’d love to see Golovkin back in the ring as early as February, whether it’s against Johnson or the winner of the Miguel Cotto vs. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez showdown at the end of November, per Carlos Boogs of BoxingScene.com:
"I would love for him to fight some time in February. If it’s not against one of those two guys, then against somebody else. Hopefully that’s allowable by the WBC. It's up the management and it's up to the promoter to put that together and I hope it's done.
I thought he [Johnson] fought a great fight. Of course he’s rated really high in the organisation. We'd love to fight him. If they could put it together, then this could be our next fight.
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Boxing fans would love to see GGG in action again in just a few months, but equally, they’d also be keen on him hanging fire and taking on either Cotto or Alvarez in the mandatory shot at the WBC Middleweight Championship he earned by beating Lemieux. Realistically, February would be too early for a fight with Cotto or Canelo.
As Boxing Junkies notes here, fighting someone like Johnson, who is improving but not at the highest level, would reveal little about Golovkin's quality:
Indeed, Canelo and Cotto would be another step up in class for Golovkin, as he seeks to dominate the middleweight division. His display against Lemieux suggested he is ready to take on competitors to the standard of the aforementioned pair, and the high-octane style of each of these fighters means it would be an aesthetic spectacle.
Either way, it’s encouraging that GGG has a lot of options. As SportsTalkFeed.com notes, there are definitely exciting fights to be made in the future:
A February showdown would keep Golovkin sharp, but it’s likely to be a little more hassle than it’s worth at this point. This is a man who has fought three times in 2015 already, and given the potential magnitude of a bout against Cotto or Canelo, a spell to recuperate may be ideal. After all, the Kazakh is still only 33 years old and should be in no rush to get back into action.
Johnson was impressive against O’Kane and would pose a similar standard test to Lemieux. If Sanchez is intent on his man getting back in action again as soon as possible, then Johnson is the obvious candidate. But after such a rapid rise to prominence, GGG may be better off waiting for the winner of Canelo vs. Cotto.
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