Gennady Golovkin Proves Once Again He's the Best Show in Boxing

The man himself calls his act a “big drama show.”

Others, namely HBO's Max Kellerman, have deemed him "the surest thing in pro sports."

And each time Gennady Golovkin enters the ring, he does nothing to rain on the hyperbolic parade.

The beat rolled violently on Saturday night in suburban Los Angeles, where the middleweight champion steamrolled well-intentioned—but overmatched—challenger Dominic Wade and retained three belts in less than two full rounds at the 17,000-plus-seat venue made famous by the NBA’s Magic Johnson/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-era Lakers.

Call it “Showtime,” punch-a-guy-in-the-mouth style.

Though the names and mangled faces have changed frequently during a 22-fight KO streak that’s now included 14 straight wins in top-tier title fights, the systematic violence has not.

In fact, whether it's a reigning claimant like David Lemieux or a middling contender like Wade, each would-be conqueror has wound up as helpless prey to the Kazakh’s unique arsenal of methodical technical acumen and will-sapping punching precision.

Golovkin accentuates his offense with sound footwork, prudent movement and pristine balance. He uses those qualities to keep opponents square and in range for punches, which typically come in hard, if not blinding, combinations. He limits escape routes by cutting off the ring and manages to get inside for decisive punishment—where his means come less from finesse and more by brute force.

And as much as a guy can look likable while being paid to bludgeon people, he pulls that off, too.

It’s a combination that’s gotten him to the No. 3 perch in the Ring magazine’s most recent pound-for-pound rankings and an even higher spot with aficionados of fighters whose M.O. involves action.

Al Bello/Getty Images

The anti-Floyd Mayweather Jr. crowd, if you will.

Though other fan-friendly commodities like Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao and Sergey Kovalev typically draw raucous applause for their efforts, not one has been as consistently spectacular over a more prolonged stretch as the guy affectionately known these days as Triple-G.

Alvarez and Pacquiao were bedeviled by Mayweather's defensive brilliance. And Kovalev, though he's never been beaten and has only rarely come close, encountered some resistance from Jean Pascal in their first match last year and had to go the 12 full rounds with a 49-year-old Bernard Hopkins in 2014.

It's hard to imagine a man that age lasting half that long with Golovkin, who's barely lost a round and never gone the distance since bursting onto the premium-cable scene four years ago.  

But while the performances have yielded ticket-sale bonanzas on both the East and West Coasts, the run of inside-the-distance wins hasn’t made it any easier for his promoter—K2 Promotions managing director Tom Loeffler—to find foes willing to be the next in line.

Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

Case in point, Alvarez, who’s shown no immediate intention to put his WBC middleweight belt on the unification line if he’s able to get past ex-140-pound champ Amir Khan on May 7.

Many call his name for headlines. Few parlay that aplomb into a match.

“That’s the biggest thing,” Loeffler told Bleacher Report. “When we announced the fight with Wade, [WBO champion] Billy Joe Saunders called out Gennady. And when we announced the fight with Lemieux, Andre Ward runs his mouth. So it is one thing to talk about fighting Gennady, but it’s another thing to actually sign a contract and agree to take the fight.”

Thanks to Golovkin’s status as a mandatory challenger to the May 7 winner, he’s likely to continue a march toward unification, whether it’s with Alvarez, Khan or whomever the Mexico-based organization determines is a worthwhile facsimile.

And while a fill-in wouldn’t carry quite the same significance as a big name, the 34-year-old’s appeal has reached a point where he’s become must-see television whether he’s got an ensemble or not.

That, from no less an authority than HBO boxing boss Peter Nelson.

“I don’t think anyone had really predicted—apart from Gennady Golovkin, Tom Loeffler and their team—Gennady would ascend to become the next pay-per-view attraction,” Nelson told Bleacher Report. “It’s one of the great things to see. I think they‘re going to continue to take the best fights possible, and the fans will have a referendum as to how big or small his fanbase will reach.”

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.