Ahmet Öner: Felix Sturm bought his Superchampion title

Ahmet Öner: Felix Sturm bought his Superchampion titleIn an Interview with the German TV magazine format ‘Sport Inside’ (WDR) on Monday, the Turkish born former promoter Ahmet Öner claims to have bought Felix Sturm’s WBA Superchampion title two and a half years ago in an effort to salvage Sturm’s career.

Öner told Sport Inside WDR: “With this belt Sturm wasn’t obligated to make mandatory defenses. Sturm was able to fight whoever he wanted to, hand-picked opponents. That’s how he managed to pocket big paydays with his TV partner SAT1, he collected 7-figure Euro sums for each event. And that’s how Felix, over the course of five or six fights, made a nice little fortune. I assume the total sum is closer to 8-digits than not. All this was possible just because he had the “Superchampion” title; a paper title he bought. He paid a couple hundred thousand Euros, and the return on investment was huge. Without this Superchampion title he wouldn’t have had this degree of freedom to pick his opponents. And Sturm didn’t think the belt had any importance then he would never have paid so much for it in the first place.”

Golovkin vs Rosado on 1/19 at MSG

Golovkin vs Rosado on 1/19 at MSGNew York, NY (December 1, 2012) On Saturday afternoon in New York City, WBA/IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady Golovkin, 24-0-0 (21KO’s) and world ranked “King” Gabriel Rosado, 21-5-0 (13KO’s) met with members of the boxing media to announce their world title clash set for Saturday, January 19, 2013 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, “The Mecca of Boxing.” HBO will televise the bout as part of a world championship Boxing After Dark triple-header. The bout is promoted by K2 Promotions in association with Peltz Boxing Promotions.

By Bill Phanco, photo: Will Hart – WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) will be making a defense of his title against a junior middleweight contender Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KO’s) on HBO on January 19th at Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA. Rosado doesn’t have a lot of power and he’s going to have to try and find a way to survive in this fight. Rosado is over his head in this fight, and it’s going to be tough for him against the hard hitting Golovkin.

Golovkin wants to fight the top middleweights in the division but he’s had no luck in getting guys like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Sergio Martinez, Daniel Geale and Felix Sturm to get in the ring with him.

Gennady Golovkin vs. Fernando Guerrero a possibility for January 19th in New York

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By Andy Brooks: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) could be defending his title on January 19th against #5 WBC Fernando Guerrero 25-1, 19 KO’s) in a HBO televised fight at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. According to esnewsreport.com, the 26-year-old Guerrero is one of three possible opponents that are being looked at for Golovkin’s next fight date on January 19th. It’ll be up to HBO to decide which one they want of the three.

Guerrero would be an okay choice, but not really an ideal one because he was already knocked out by 40-year-old Grady Brewer last year in June, and that kind of takes the interest out of watching him fight Golovkin. Guerrero has won his last four fights since the defeat to Brewer, albeit he’s faced 2nd tier opposition.

Golovkin doesn’t have a lot of good options right now because the middleweight division is so dead right now and lacking in talent.

Golovkin vs. Oosthuizen on 1/19

Golovkin vs. Oosthuizen on 1/19By Rob Smith: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) is heading for a clash against unbeaten super middleweight contender Thomas Oosthuizen (20-0-1, 13 KO’s) if the fight can get get put together. Golovkin, 30, would be moving up in weight for one fight to take on the tall 6’4″ International Boxing Organization (IBO) super middleweight champion Oosthuizen at MSG Theater, in New York, New York, USA in a fight that will be televised in the United States nationwide.

It’s come to this after the fight that Golovkin wanted against IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale didn’t materialize due to Geale choosing to fight fellow Australian Anthony Mundine in a better money fight. Once it was known that Geale was going to take that fight instead of the World Boxing Association ordered fight against Golovkin, the WBA wasted no time in stripping Geale of his WBA title.

However, he reportedly knew that he had to face Golovkin next after the WBA told him when he first captured the WBA belt against Felix Sturm last September but he still opted for the bout against Mundine. With that fight unable to take place, Golovkin’s promoters at K2 are looking to put a fight together with the 24-year-old Oosthuizen.

Golovkin will be watching Chavez Jr-Martinez fight with great interest, hoping to get the winner

Golovkin will be watching Chavez Jr-Martinez fight with great interest, hoping to get the winnerBy Marcus Richardson: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) will be watching the September 15th fight between WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KO’s) and Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO’s) with great interest, as Golovkin wants to fight the winner of that bout. Golovkin, 30, fought for the first time in the United States last Saturday night in destroying #3 WBA Grzegorz Proksa in five rounds in a three knockdown performance from Golovkin. The win has suddenly made Golovkin one of the top fighters in the division in the minds of boxing fans, although the hardcore fans already knew how good Golovkin was going into this fight.

Golovkin said to RingTV “For the fight on September 15 between Chavez Jr. and Martinez, I think it’s a 50-50 fight. Sergio has better skills, but Chavez Jr. is younger and seems to be getting stronger with each fight. I look forward to viewing the Chavez Jr-Martinez fight.”

Golovkin would be a serious threat to either Chavez Jr. or Martinez due to his huge power, excellent inside fighting skills and pinpoint accuracy with his punches. Unlike most of the 180 pound Chavez Jr’s opponents, Golovkin would be able to compete with Chavez Jr. on the inside despite giving away 15+ pounds in weight. Chavez Jr. is a dangerous to the body, but he doesn’t have the power that Golovkin has when punching on the inside to the head and body. Chavez Jr. would have to deal with a lot of powerful head and body shots, and it would very tough for him to be able to take those kinds of shots for 12 rounds.

Golovkin may have problems trying to get the other 160 lb champions to fight him

Golovkin may have problems trying to get the other 160 lb champions to fight himBy Michael Collins: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovin (24-0, 21 KO’s) is in a situation now where he may find it difficult to get the other top middleweights to face him due to in part to his crushing 5th round knockout victory over #3 WBA Grzegorz Proksa last Saturday night in Verona, New York. The other middleweight champions were obviously already keenly aware of how good Golovkin was before the Proksa fight, but after no doubt seeing him reduce a good fighter in Proksa to a pile of rubble, it’s possible that Golovin may find himself ignored by the other champs in the division.

We may already be seeing that with IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale possibly taking a lesser fight against #2 IBF Sam Soliman in December, which will result in Geale getting his WBA by the World Boxing Association for failing to fight Golovkin by December 31st. It’s surprising that Geale would go through all that trouble to win the WBA title but then turn around and just give it up without a fight in the ring against Golovkin.

The Geale isn’t really that interesting, though, compared to facing the winner of the September 15th fight between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez. Getting the chance of fighting one of those guys would be ideal for Golovkin, because he could immediately nail down the number #1 position int he middleweight division if he were to fight the winner of that bout. Geale obviously would still be remaining for Golovkin to fight at that point, but that would be the easier fight compared to taking on Chavez Jr or Martinez, both of which are bigger punchers than Geale.

The Middleweight Landscape

The Middleweight LandscapeBy Anthony Loy: Forget arguing about the p4p rankings, the middleweight division is currently the home of fierce debate regarding who will sit atop the mountain in the very near future.

The heir to the throne appears to be one Gennady Golovkin, a punch perfect destruction of hard-hitting but limited Grzegorz Proksa on Saturday night has put the hype train into full speed but whilst he undoubtedly has the tools and an extensive amateur background (in which he holds wins over Andre Dirrell and Lucian Bute) I can’t help but feel people are getting carried away with his exciting but totally expected win over the one-dimensional Proksa, a man who was outpointed not long ago by the unheralded Kerry Hope.

The man currently reigning supreme in what is fast turning into the most fascinating division in Boxing Sergio Martinez takes on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr for the WBC belt on September 15th in what promises to be one of the fights of the year, Chavez who has a very impressive 46-0-1 record will provide Martinez with a stern test and will hope to impose his size advantage when the two meet, whatever the outcome of this fight and I believe it will be a close points win for Chavez I think its likely it will be Chavez’s last in the 160lb division.

Daniel Geale and Felix Sturm provided and excellent fight and a nightmare for the judges on Saturday night with Geale earning a split-decision win away from home in Germany, a place not known for giving visiting fighters a fair shake (just ask Matthew Macklin).

Golovkin says he’s ready for anyone from Mayweather to Ward?

Golovkin says he's ready for anyone from Mayweather to Ward?By Paul Strauss: Gennady G.G.G. Golovkin did a pretty good job Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. trying to establish his worthiness for all comers. Quite often when a fighter boasts he’s ready for the best (in several divisions), his words are dismissed as just so much talk. Fans realize that often a fighter is trying hard to convince himself as much as anyone else.

In Golovkin’s case, Fans might dismiss the apparent bragging as a problem in translation. Maybe English translated to his native Kazakh (or possibly Russian) language back to English got mixed up with the effort. One thing for sure, Golovkin did a number on the previously once defeated Polish southpaw fighter named Grzegorz “Super G” Proksa, who sported twenty-one knockouts of his own to surpass Golovkin’s twenty. Going into Saturday night’s bout, he was viewed as no slouch, but despite that fact, Golovkin managed to knock him stiff.

Just cruising along in the first round, Golovkin still managed to drop Proksa. There was thought by some he might have slipped or stumbled over Golovkin’s feet. Doubt diminished In the second round, when G.G.G. fired off several particularly nice left hooks to the body, which changed the expression on the Polish fighter’s face to something resembling a silent scream.