Former unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin makes his return to the ring on Saturday, June 8 to take on undefeated Steve Rolls at Madison Square Garden.
Former middleweight king Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) makes his return to the ring to take on undefeated Steve Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, June 8.
The fight is scheduled for 12 rounds at a maximum weight of 164 pounds. Golovkin vs. Rolls kicks off the exclusive six-fight, three-year global partnership between GGG Promotions and DAZN, the world’s fastest-growing sports streaming platform.
This will be Golovkin’s first fight since he suffered his first professional loss and lost his WBC, WBA and IBO middleweight titles to Canelo Alvarez by majority decision in their rematch in September in Las Vegas.
Now, the 37-year-old Golovkin is ready to return after almost nine months away from the ring to show that he’s still one of the best boxers in the world.
GGG's Back! ??⚡️#GGGRolls pic.twitter.com/D9rwHDJnAg
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) April 16, 2019
“I am very excited to be returning to the ring and bringing the Big Drama Show back to Madison Square Garden. The Garden’s fans are fantastic,” said Golovkin. “I love boxing and I promise to bring the best of me to everyone who will be watching me in an all-action fight with Steve Rolls. I am very happy that GGG Promotions has a new home at DAZN.”
Golovkin is a heavy favorite to defeat Rolls and will have his eyes on facing the winner between Canelo Alvarez and IBF middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs in their unification middleweight title fight on Saturday, May 4.
Golovkin defeated Jacobs by unanimous decision in March of 2017 at Madison Square Garden and is 0-1-1 in his two fights against Alvarez.
So he’ll definitely want to face the winner so that he can become champion again.
But the little known Rolls, who’s from Toronto, Canada, is looking to spoil GGG’s plans and making a name for himself, and, of course, win, by far, the biggest fight of his career.
“I want to sincerely thank DAZN and GGG himself for giving me the opportunity to challenge one of the best fighters in the world,” said Rolls. “But let me be clear: I’ve won national championships and represented my country, and Golovkin is just a man. I’m coming to win this fight and put my name among the best middleweights in the world.”
This is a huge step up in class for the 35-year-old Rolls, who last fought in December when he defeated KeAndrae Leatherwood by unanimous decision and won the vacant USBA middleweight title.
Golovkin was a dominant middleweight champion as 18 of his record 20 title defenses ended via knockout. But after suffering his first loss and showing signs of slowing down, some question how much longer GGG can remain amongst the best pound for pound fighters in the sport.
He’ll have a chance to answer that question on June 8.
Tickets go on sale this Saturday, April 20, at Noon ET. Priced at $750, $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50, not including fees, tickets may be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008), and online at www.ticketmaster.com and www.msg.com.
