No one expected Gennady Golovkin to lose to Vanes Martirosyan, and he did not. On a night when Gennady “GGG” Golovkin was supposed to fight Canelo Alvarez, he showed that he was ready for any and all opposition.
Gennady Golovkin dominated Vanes Martirosyan, winning with a second-round knockout (courtesy of Sporting News ). Martirosyan was a late replacement for Canelo Alvarez.
May 5 was the date when a boxing showdown was supposed to take place. Gennady Golovkin’s rematch with Canelo Alvarez would have settled who the best middleweight boxer was. Unfortunately, their megafight was scrapped after Alvarez tested positive for clenbuterol (courtesy of ESPN ) in early March. Canelo Alvarez quickly blamed the failed drug test on contaminated meat he ate in his home country of Mexico.
Months of promoting the much-hyped rematch went for naught. Gennady Golovkin was without an opponent on May 5 until Vanes Martirosyan was allowed to step in (courtesy of ESPN ) for the suspended Alvarez. The conversation surrounding the Gennady Golovkin rematch with Canelo Alvarez took on an entirely different topic.
The chatter of whether or not Canelo Alvarez should be considered a cheater has now clouded the budding rivalry. There have been growing concerns about whether Alvarez had ever cheated before. Nevertheless, every aspect of Gennady Golovkin’s fight plans had to change.
Serious Business #GGG pic.twitter.com/DrrmwzPjFh
— Tom Loeffler (@TomLoeffler1) May 6, 2018
Not only did Gennady Golovkin have to face a new opponent, but the venue of the fight and its viewing status was altered.
Instead of fighting Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas, Gennady Golovkin was going to face Vanes Martirosyan at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California. Also, the pay-per-view status was demoted to a cable television bout. Now there is a question regarding who Gennady Golovkin will fight next.
Chances are good that a Gennady Golovkin versus Canelo Alvarez rematch could happen this year. However, it would come at a cost. Golovkin was able to bypass his IBF mandatory opponent Sergey Derevyanchenko for the time being. In order to keep his IBF title, Golovkin must fight Derevyanchenko by August 5.
It is likely that the Gennady Golovkin fight with Sergey Derevyanchenko will take place next given his desire to unify his middleweight titles with the ones owned by Canelo Alvarez. There could be an outside shot of Golovkin fighting Jermall Charlo before he faces Alvarez.
According to Boxing Scene , there was a push to have Jermall Charlo be the replacement opponent. Nothing materialized.
Whoever Gennady Golovkin faces has been deemed irrelevant at the moment. Golovkin wants to clean out the middleweight division. Golovkin will have to go through Canelo Alvarez, perhaps have a rematch with Daniel Jacobs, and eventually, the aforementioned Jermall Charlo to prove that he is the best in the class.