Boxing Opinion: When All Roads Point to Gennady Golovkin

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Boxing’s middleweight king, 32-year-old Gennady Golovkin, is attempting to claim the mantle of the No. 1 boxer competing today. Inside the ring and out, it could be working.

His method, a combination of hard punching destruction and an entertainer’s ability to make a show, produced a performance of pure dominance en route to a sixth-round stoppage over Willie Monroe Jr. on Saturday in front of a wild crowd at The Forum.

The win moved Golovkin to 33-0 with 30 stoppages and means “GGG” owns the highest finishing percentage in the history of the storied middleweight division.

Beyond his impossible-to-overlook physical abilities, most notably a jolting left behind which he unfurls a debilitating right, Golovkin’s smile and charm seem to most resonate with fans. Triple G was all smiles in the ring after his third knockdown of Monroe, a prideful underdog from a boxing family who tried as best he could to make it a fight. Perhaps it was a result of Monroe’s recuperative abilities or the conjured spirit of his deceased grandfather -- which he claimed was the case; or maybe it was Golovkin carrying him to make a show for Southern California fans who adopted the man from Kazakhstan as their own: “GGG” said as much during a post-fight interview with HBO’s Max Kellerman. Whatever it was, Golovkin’s resolve to finish feels as if it manifests from an earlier, grittier boxing era.

Three years after leaving Germany and starting the path towards building an American fan base, Golovkin stepped into the ring wearing Los Angeles Lakers colors in front of 12,372 screaming fans in his second home. The top boxing ticket seller in California the last two years sported white trunks, with “GGG” emblazoned in purple and gold trim on the belt line, and purple metallic gloves, a reminder, albeit a painful one for Monroe, that The Forum once housed the Showtime Lakers.

Few felt Monroe had much of a chance to win coming into the fight, and Golovkin wasted little time in threatening the upstate New York fighter. He snapped off a vicious left hook in the second round that put down Monroe. He followed moments later with a right hand that did the same. “GGG” put in work the rest of the way until he dropped Monroe again in the sixth. While speaking with referee Jack Reiss, Monroe decided he had endured enough. Golovkin used those purple gloves to batter more than Monroe’s head. He blasted away at hips and kidneys, and when the challenger called it quits, he could not feel his right leg.

“Every fight is good experience for me, every step.” Golovkin said. “Willie’s a southpaw. He’s a very good mover. Everyone has problem with southpaws, but it’s a good fight for us. I don’t want a crazy fight. I want to show my fans how I can beat any style.”

Following his 20th consecutive finish, Golovkin emphasized his status as champion. Of the middleweights, sure, he may have had bigger things in mind as he made such proclamations. At least that is how his words came off as he smiled wide. Even if fighters like Miguel Cotto hold titles at 160 pounds, there is little debate as to which man is the true king of the division. This is partly the reason why “GGG” plans to prove a point and unify the belts.

“Maybe Hagler-style,” he said. “Maybe Hopkins. This is my category.”

Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, and promoter Tom Loeffler noted their mission at the moment is to give “GGG” the opportunity to hold every major belt at his weight. The only man for which they would alter course is Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“This is business,” Golovkin said when asked about fighting the undisputed welterweight champion, who two weeks ago stymied Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas. “Show the contract.”

Most pundits think a fight with Mayweather is a nonstarter. However, after parting ways in 2010 with a German promoter who seemed oblivious to what he had in Golovkin, the Kazakh Olympian seems capable of just about anything, so why not?

“I’m ready for anybody,” he said. “Ask him.”

Triple G wants to fight four times a year and has no interest in waiting around for big names like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who turned down $7 million to fight Golovkin last year. They are looking at a September date for his next bout, though Cotto makes the most sense, Golovkin said. They both have ties to HBO, and the smiling battering ram even pinpointed Cinco de Mayo weekend 2016 as the time to do it. If not Cotto, then perhaps the next man in line is Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who stopped James Kirkland in impressive fashion in Houston last week. Alvarez seems to have little interest in fighting at 160 pounds, though, and one wonders how much that has to do with Golovkin.

There are paths to these fights and paths to others, though Golovkin has clearly realized that, as his success continues, as his name grows and fans clamor to see him, all paths will eventually lead in his direction.