Gennadiy Golovkin’s return is official.
Triple-G will defend his middleweight title against mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta behind closed doors on Friday, Dec. 18 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
The card will be streamed on DAZN.
Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) will be making his first defense in his second reign as a 160-pound titleholder, which began with his unanimous-decision victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in October of last year, his most-recent fight.
Canelo Alvarez ended Golovkin’s first stint as middleweight champ in November 2018, when Alvarez won by a majority decision.
Golovkin and his handlers claim falsely that he’ll break Bernard Hopkins’ middleweight record of 20 title defenses if he beats Szeremeta. In fact, Triple-G made five of his 20 defenses when he held only the WBA “regular” title, which Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize.
Still, that’s the story Golovkin and Co. are pushing.
“This is not just any fight,” said the 38-year-old Kazakhstani. “It is a fight with great meaning. I always have the greatest respect for all of my opponents. I have really missed boxing and I wanted to fight this year.
“The goal … fighting for a record twenty-first successful world title defense.”
Szeremeta (21-0, 5 KOs) is a solid boxer but has limited punching power and no experience on such a big stage.
“I want this title for Poland and my family,” said Szeremeta, 31. “GGG is a great champion, one of the best in history, but it is time for replacement.Thank you for the great chance. I must take my opportunity to be the first world middleweight champion from Poland.”
Alvarez is scheduled to challenge super middleweight titleholder Callum Smith the following night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, also on DAZN.
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