By Keith Idec
The “Is” finally have been dotted and the “Ts” now are crossed on Triple-G’s new deal with DAZN.
Gennady Golovkin and DAZN group executive chairman John Skipper worked well into the night Thursday to finalize an agreement for the former middleweight champion that has been in the works for months. BoxingScene.com has confirmed that Golovkin’s contract is for three years and calls for him to fight twice per calendar year, six fights in all.
Golovkin’s deal, first reported by RingTV.com recently, was announced in a press release Friday morning. A press conference also has been scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles.
His DAZN debut will take place on an undetermined Saturday in June, one of the four in the month following the Anthony Joshua-Jarrell Miller heavyweight title fight June 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Golovkin’s opponent hasn’t been chosen, either, but BoxingScene.com has learned that he will not fight an elite middleweight because there is a payday in excess of $30 million at stake for Golovkin to battle Canelo Alvarez a third time September 14.
The obvious obstacle between a third bout between Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) and Mexico’s Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) is Daniel Jacobs. Alvarez and Brooklyn’s Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) are scheduled to fight for Alvarez’s WBA and WBC 160-pound championships and Jacobs’ IBF title in a DAZN main event May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
If Jacobs beats Alvarez, the 28-year-old superstar would be entitled to an immediate rematch. In that scenario, Golovkin, who edged Jacobs in their March 2017 bout at Madison Square Garden, would have to wait for the winner of a rematch between Alvarez and Jacobs before partaking in the type of mega-fight he wants as he nears his 37th birthday.
Golovkin could fight WBO middleweight champ Demetrius Andrade (27-0, 17 KOs) while waiting. Andrade also is signed to compete exclusively on DAZN, but the 6-feet-1, skillful southpaw is considered a high-risk, low-reward proposition for fighters regularly earning eight figures for fights.
The DAZN-Golovkin partnership also affords Golovkin two fight cards per year in 2020 and 2021 to showcase boxers signed with his promotional company. Golovkin has been afforded the option of purchasing equity in DAZN through his fight purses as well, though it is not yet clear whether that has happened.
2023-10-22 22:14:39
