Despite Request, Golovkin Will Face Saunders in United States
Gennady Golovkin wants to fight Billy Joe Saunders this spring as a tune up for a mandatory fight against Canelo Alvarez for his WBC middleweight championship, but so far Saunders’ camp is throwing up roadblocks as Sky Sports reports. The latest was a condition that the fight needs to happen in the United Kingdom, knowing that Golovkin’s preference is to fight in the United States as he builds his brand as the sport’s most entertaining fighter.
While Golovkin is from Kazakhstan, he lives in Los Angeles and eight of his last 11 fights have been in the States with the only exception being three fights in Monte Carlo. Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter, said a potential fight has gotten interest from Madison Square Garden, the Forum in Los Angeles and some locations in Texas.
Saunders’ request to hold the fight in the United Kingdom makes sense, because he in many ways is in a position to negotiate a little with Golovkin’s camp. Saunders surely would love to fight in the UK, but this is mostly just a posture to get more money out of the deal.
Golovkin wants to fight Saunders as a credible opponent building up to his fight with Alvarez. Saunders defeated Andy Lee on December 17 to capture the WBO middleweight title and Golovkin could further unify the four belts with a win over him. HBO can sell that storyline as it hypes the fight and Golovkin can use it to sell tickets wherever the fight gets held. Holding the fight in the United Kingdom throws that narrative off.
HBO would seemingly need to show the fight on tape delay or at an unusual time based on the time difference between the United Kingdom and United States. Serious fight fans would already know the result and short of something amazing happening, they’d be be less likely to tune in. The result wouldn’t provide the hype for a fight with Alvarez that Golovkin wants.
Saunders may be better off waiting to fight Golovkin anyway. While he sits undefeated at 23-0, he has yet to show the pound-for-pound skills that would make him one of the world’s elite fighters. Even his win over Lee, who he knocked down twice in the third round, came via a majority decision.
While the potential may be there, he has yet to realize it. Golovkin meanwhile is ranked as Sports Illustrated’s second-best, pound-for-pound fighter in the world behind flyweight Roman Gonzalez in the magazine’s latest rankings. He’s on a 21-fight knockout streak and has developed a reputation as not only a fiercely strong and aggressive fighter, but a tactically smart one as well.
The odds makers at Gambling.com have yet to set a line for a potential fight, but Golovkin will surely be a heavy favorite to not just win, but to win via knockout. Saunders understands this and may just want get the biggest payday possible on the chance Golovkin destroys him.
If Saunders puts together a credible fight, he could continue to get bigger matches, but if he’s knocked out early as so many of Golovkin’s opponents are, his time in the spotlight will be incredibly short. Expect him to drop this request soon and the fight to get scheduled since it’s likely the largest payday he’ll ever see.
Photo by Ed Mulholland/K2
