Gennady Golovkin recaptured his IBF title last Saturday beating Sergiy Derevyanchenko by a unanimous decision in a thrilling middleweight title contest at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Golovkin’s promoter Eddie Hearn believes that a rematch between GGG and Derevyanchenko will be a huge sellout due to how exciting their fight was. Hearn makes it clear that Golovkin’s priority is a trilogy fight with Saul Canelo Alvarez in his next fight, but if not that match, then a rematch with Derevyanchenko would be an interesting option.
A lot of fans are screaming robbery after Golovkin’s win over Derevyanchenko. If it doesn’t bother Golovkin that the fans think he was gifted, then he’ll move on to face someone else.
Golovkin started off quickly in knocking Derevyanchenko down in round one, and then cutting him over his right eye in round two. Those two things motivated Derevyanchenko to come roaring back to hurt Golovkin in the 5th, and then belting him around the ring through most of the last half of the contest.
I would like the rematch if it’s possible, I’m ready,” said Derevyanchenko. “When I started moving, I felt like I was giving him room and I was getting hit with those shots that he threw and that’s why I started taking the fight to him and getting closer and not giving him room to maneuver.”
Golovkin-Derevyanchenko referee had an off night
Referee Harvey Dock had what some believed was an off night. He arguably blew the call in the 2nd round in ruling that Dereyanchenko’s cut over his right eye was caused by a clash of heads. The replay showed that it was from a punch.
In round 5, Dock got in the way in the closing seconds of the round when Derevyanchenko had Golovkin hurt and was backing him up around the ring. It looked like GGG was about to go down when he backed up against Dock, and the action was halted. In round 10, Dock mistakenly ended the round early after thinking that he’d heard the bell. At the time, Golovkin was working Derevyanchenko over, and had him trapped against the ropes.
Hearn says Golovkin might have lacked motivation for Derevyanchenko
“If you’re looking for a career defining fight against Canelo, and you end up in a fight that maybe doesn’t motivate you in the same way, and you’ve got an opponent that is desperate to take this opportunity, it’s difficult. And you’ve got to try and show the same desire that he has,” said Hearn.
It didn’t look like Golovkin lacked motivation for the fight last Saturday, but that’s another excuse that Hearn is offering up. Hearn also said that Golovkin was ill all week long. So now he’s also stating that Golovkin may not have been properly motivated for the Derevyanchenko fight. If Golovkin wasn’t motivated, then that’s on him. He was fighting for the vacant IBF middleweight belt that he felt he needed to win. If GGG can’t get himself motivated for world title fights, then he’s not going to last too much longer in the sport.
GGG wants the rematch with Canelo
“I think at this stage it’s all about making sure that he [Golovkin] leaves the hospital safe and sound tonight, and having a rest and looking at the fights that motivate him,” said Hearn. “He’s at a stage where he’s been there and done everything.
“To put yourself to do it again, you’ve got to be motivated. Is that the rematch? I don’t know. Is that Demetrius Andrade? I don’t know. Is that Canelo? Yes. Is the last answer. He wants that Canelo fight. He’ll have a mandatory to deal with at some stage for the IBF. There are so many different options,” said Hearn.
It’s patently obvious that Golovkin wants the trilogy fight with Canelo, but it’s not probable that it’ll happen. Canelo is bulking up to fight WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev on November 2. It’s going to be hard on Canelo’s body to strip that extra muscle off, and move back down to 160.
When Canelo does come back down to 160, he’ll take on someone like WBO champion Demetrius Andrade or maybe even Derevyanchenko, who would give boxing fans a good yardstick to compare him to how GGG dealt with the same fighter. It would be a way for Canelo to thumb his nose at Golovkin by taking on Derevyanchenko, and doing a better job of beating him.
Golovkin vs. Derevyanchenko rematch = instant sellout says Hearn
‘Certainly with the crowd no one expecting Derevyanchenko to win, and the fight wasn’t huge because no one knew a lot about Derevyanchenko,” said Hearn. “Now they do. So if you come back again, it’ll be an instant sellout.
“Gennady is the boss, and he wants career defining fights at this stage. Whether it’s a unification, whether it’s Canelo, that’s what he wants. He will know that some people thought Derevyanchenko won, and maybe he’ll want to put that right,” said Hearn.
There is a very good chance that Golovkin vs. Derevyanchenko II rematch would be a big seller. However, for that to happen, it would likely need to take place next while the boxing public are still interested in the fight. If Golovkin spaces it out to where he faces Derevyanchenko in a year or two, then the fan interest will evaporate, and it won’t be worth it.
As hard as this fight was for Golovkin, you can’t blame him if he turned tail and runs in the opposite direction. Derevyanchenko was smarter and more skilled fighter than GGG. He also had the superior game plan, and stamina. The only area where Golovkin was better than Derevyanchenko was in the power department.
Golovkin might move on for the career-defining fights says Hearn
“He wants the world titles, and maybe he’ll move on for those career defining fights,” said Hearn. “I don’t think you’d see that performance against Canelo, because I think you’d see a different mindset and motivation. But again, I’m not taking anything away from Derevyanchenko.
“Canelo is a different fight, and it’s a different level of intensity, motivation and training. obviously, that’s the fight that he wants. So we’ll have to see. He went straight to the hospital,” said Hearn.
The only career defining fight that Golovkin can take is against Canelo. Hearn’s ideas of Golovkin facing his Matchroom stable fighters Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders or Demetrius Andrade are NOT career defining fights. Those guys aren’t popular, and they’re pretty much in the same situation Derevyanchenko WAS in before his fight with GGG last Saturday.
Right now, you’d have to say that Golovkin would stand to gain a lot more by fighting a rematch with Derevyanchenko than he would in facing Andrade, Callum or Saunders. The American fans don’t know who those guys are, and they wouldn’t be excited at seeing GGG fight any of them.
The only real choices for Golovkin at 160 is Canelo or Derevyanchenko. Other than that, Golovkin would be doing Hearn a favor by fighting his Matchroom stable fighters Callum, Saunders or Andrade. There wouldn’t be any gain for GGG.
Team work #TeamGGG pic.twitter.com/xJO5zEThOE
— Gennadiy Golovkin (@GGGBoxing) October 6, 2019
