Gennadiy Golovkin suddenly finds himself in huge demand by UK fighters Chris Eubank Jr. & John Ryder, who both hope that they can face the famous former unified middleweight champion next back home in England.
The first name out of Eubank Jr’s mouth last Saturday night was Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) after his tenth round knockout victory over Liam Smith in their rematch at the AO Arena in London.
It would be interesting for fans to see what Golovkin could do to Eubank Jr. with his still formidable power. Eubank Jr. is trained by Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre now, and he would devise a strategy to defuse Golovkin’s enormous power, which could involve a lot of holding, grappling & movement.
Eubank Jr. has the job and mobility to keep Golovkin away, but it would be difficult for him to hold him off for twelve rounds.
As we saw in Eubank Jr.’s first fight against a non-weight-drained Liam Smith, he’s got a fragile mandible. If Golovkin gets to Eubank Jr’s chin at any point in the fight, it could be good night for him.
Golovkin’s management hasn’t commented yet on whether he’ll entertain the idea of fighting Eubank Jr. or Ryder. Those guys would be a huge step down from the money & attention Golovkin received for his last fight against Canelo Alvarez.
Eubank Jr. was supposed to fight Golovkin seven years ago in 2016, but when the negotiations stalled, welterweight Kell Brook was brought in, and he was the one who faced GGG and was taken out in five rounds.
Golovkin, 41, hasn’t fought since last year when he lost a close twelve round unanimous decision to undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in their trilogy match in Las Vegas.
“For Chris Eubank Jr., he’s pushing for Gennadiy Golovkin. He’s always wanted to fight Gennadiy Golovkin. He’s wanted that name on his record,” said Gareth A. Davies to talkSPORT Boxing about middleweight contender wanting former unified 160-lb champion Gennadiy Golovkin next.
Golovkin is ranked #1 WBO at middleweight, despite not having fought in twelve months and coming off a loss. A fight against #5 WBC Eubank Jr. would put the winner in a position to challenge for a world title against Jermall Charlo or Janibek Alimkhanuly.
“His timing & speed might not be there, but his power is always going to be there. So he’s always going to be a dangerous opponent,” said John Ryder to iFL TV about Gennadiy Golovkin.
“I teased yesterday that if Saul Canelo Alvarez is watching and that fight is in the UK, Chris Eubank Jr. is a brilliant name for him to come over here and fight. He’s just put himself in the mix.”
