Gennady Golovkin returns to the ring for the first time since his closer-than-expected victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko last year.
GENNADIY GOLOVKIN (40-1-1, 35 KOs)
VS. KAMIL SZEREMETA (21-0, 5 KOs)
- When: Friday, Dec. 18
- Start time: 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT (main event as early as 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT)
- Where: Seminole Hard Rock, Hollywood, Fla.
- TV/Stream: DAZN
- Division: Middleweight
- At stake: Golovkin’s IBF title
- Pound-for-pound ranking: Golovkin No. 9
- Odds: Golovkin 17½-1 (BetMGM)
- Also on the card: Ali Akhmedov vs. Carlos Gongora, 12 rounds, super middleweights; John Ryder vs. Mike Guy, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Hyun Mi Choi vs. Calista Silgado, 10 rounds, junior lightweights
- Prediction: Golovkin KO 5
- Background: On one hand, the decline of Triple-G might be exaggerated. After all, the only blemishes on the powerful Kazakhstani’s record are a disputed draw and a close loss against a fighter some believe is No. 1 pound for pound, Canelo Alvarez. On the other hand, he’s 38 and looked his age in a hard-fought unanimous-decision victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko to win the vacant IBF 160-pound title in October of last year. That was his most-recent fight. Has Golovkin lost a step? We should get a better feel for that on Friday. Szeremeta, a 31-year-old Pole, doesn’t have much power but he’s a solid, experienced boxer. At the same time, one could ask: What did he do to earn a shot at a title? He has had some good results at the European level but Triple-G represents a significant step up in opposition for him. It’s easy to imagine Golovkin, hungry for a strong performance, walking through Szeremeta’s relatively weak punches and knocking him out. Hence the wide odds in the titleholder’s favor. Golvkin could get his long-awaited third shot at Alvarez in May if he wins on Friday.
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