Gennady Golovkin

Gennady Golovkin- Biography

Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin, popularly known as ‘GGG,’ ‘God of War,’ and ‘Golden Boy,’ is a professional boxer from Kazakhstan. Beginning as an amateur, he went on to earn a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 2003 ‘World Amateur Boxing Championships.’ At the 2004 ‘Summer Olympics,’ he earned a silver medal in the same category. He became professional in 2006, and his first significant world championship victory came in 2010 when he defeated Milton Nez to capture the WBA interim middleweight title. Later that year, he won the WBA (Regular) title.

He won the vacant IBO middleweight title the next year, defeating Lajuan Simon. He won the WBA (Super) title in 2014 and successfully defended it as well as the IBO middleweight title against Daniel Geale. His winning streak continued, as he defeated Marco Antonio Rubio in 2014 and David Lemieux in 2015 to capture the WBC interim middleweight title and the IBF middleweight title, respectively. When Canelo Alvarez vacated the WBC middleweight championship in 2016, he was promoted to full champion. He was stripped of the championship, though, after he declined to fight Serhiy Derevianchenko in 2018.

Golovkin is known for his subtle and skillful movements, powerful punches, and intelligence. He is the unified IBO middleweight champion, as well as the WBC, WBA (Super), and IBF belts. His knockout percentage (89.7) is the highest in middleweight championship history. The ‘Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) and ‘The Ring’ magazine named him the second-best middleweight fighter in the world in December 2019, but ‘boxrec.com’ ranked him first. When pound for pound is taken into account, ‘boxrec.com’ ranks him third, while ‘The Ring,’ ESPN, and TBRB rank him seventh, seventh, and sixth, respectively.

Gennady Golovkin- Birth, Age, Ethnicity, Siblings, Education

• On April 8, 1982, in Karaganda, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union, Gennady Golovkin was born (present-day Karagandy, Kazakhstan). His father, a Russian, worked as a coal miner, and his mother, a Korean, as a lab assistant.
• He has a close relationship with his older brothers, Vadim and Sergey, as well as his twin brother Maxim. When he was eight years old, he was inspired by his older brothers to start boxing.
• His brothers would arrange fights for him with opponents considerably older than him when he was in kindergarten. In an interview, he went on to add that the fights were arranged “every day (with) different individuals.”
• Vadim and Sergey joined the Soviet Army when Golovkin was nine years old. The authorities informed his family of Vadim’s death in 1990 and Sergey’s death in 1994.
• When Victor Dmitriev initially joined a boxing gym in Maikuduk, Karaganda, he became his first boxing coach.

Gennady Golovkin- Relationship, Married Life

• He is married to Alina, and the couple has a son named Vadim. They also have a daughter, who was born just days before lvarez’s fight.
• He migrated to Stuttgart, Germany, from his home country in 2006, and then to Santa Monica, California, USA, in 2014, where he now lives with his family.
• In addition to Kazakh, he is fluent in three additional languages: Russian, English, and German.

Gennady Golovkin- Professional Career

• He had a scholarship with the ‘Olympic Solidarity’ program since November 2002.
• At the 2003 ‘World Amateur Boxing Championships,’ he earned a gold medal by defeating Oleg Mashkin.
• He went on to win a gold medal in the 2004 ‘Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Puerto Princesa, Philippines, and therefore qualified for the 2004 ‘Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
• Golovkin represented Kazakhstan at the Olympics, where he earned a silver medal.
• He moved on to a professional career with ‘Universum Box-Promotion,’ making his debut in May 2006 after demonstrating exceptional performance in his amateur career, which he ended in 2005 with a record of 345-5.
• On July 11, 2009, he defeated Brazil’s John Anderson Carvalho in Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany, to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title.
• Golovkin’s contract with ‘Universum’ was terminated in January 2010 due to some disagreements.
• He accepted a contract with K2 and began training in Big Bear, California, under the direction of renowned trainer Abel Sanchez.
• On August 14, 2010, he won his first major world championship after defeating Columbian boxer Milton Nez to win the WBA interim middleweight title at the ‘Roberto Durán Arena’ in Panama City, Panama.
• On December 9, 2011, he retained the WBA (Regular) middleweight title by defeating US pro boxer Lajuan Simon in a battle staged at the ‘Ballsaal Interconti-Hotel’ in Düsseldorf, Germany. He also won the vacant IBO middleweight belt in the process.
• On September 1, 2012, in New York City, he defeated Polish professional boxer Grzegorz Proksa in his debut battle.
• He was crowned the lone WBA champion in the middleweight division in October 2012, after the WBA stripped Australian pro boxer Daniel Geale of the belt after the latter sought a rematch against Anthony Mundine.
• Nobuhiro Ishida, a former WBA interim super welterweight champion from Japan, suffered his first knockout defeat at the hands of Golovkin on March 30, 2013, at the ‘Salle des Étoiles’ in Monte Carlo, Monaco, with a strong overhand right in the third round.
• He successfully defended both his WBA and IBO middleweight belts against British-Irish pro boxer Matthew Macklin on June 29, 2013, in Connecticut.
• His thrilling fight against American pro boxer Curtis Stevens on November 2, 2013, at ‘Madison Square Garden’ in New York City not only saw him retain the WBA and IBO middleweight titles but also marked his 15th consecutive stoppage victory. Golovkin won the bout with a technical knockout in the eighth round. It received a worldwide notice and was televised in over 100 countries.
• On February 1, 2014, he successfully defended his WBA and IBO middleweight titles against Ghanaian professional boxer Osumanu Adama. On June 3, 2014, the World Boxing Association (WBA) officially upgraded him to the level of WBA (Super) champion.
• Golovkin was given special permission to defend his championship against Daniel Geale. Golovkin successfully defended his WBA (Super) and IBO middleweight belts against Geale in a bout staged on July 26, 2014, at the ‘Madison Square Garden.’
• On October 18, 2014, he faced then-Interim WBC champion Marco Antonio Rubio at the ‘StubHub Center’ in Carson, California, in his debut fight on the West Coast. He not only defended his WBA (Super) and IBO middleweight belts, but he also captured the WBC interim middleweight title.
• On February 21, 2015, in the ‘Salle des Etoiles’ in Monte Carlo, he successfully defended his title for the 13th time in a row against British pro boxer Martin Murray.
• His third middleweight title defense put him in third place after Bernard Hopkins (19 victories) and Carlos Monzón (14 wins).
• On May 16, 2015, he defeated American pro boxer Willie Monroe Jr. to retain his WBA (Super) and IBO middleweight belts. In addition to retaining his WBA (Super) middleweight title, IBO middleweight title, and WBC interim middleweight title, he also won the IBF middleweight title on October 17, 2015, against Canadian pro boxer David Lemieux.
• His knockout victory over Lemieux was his 21st in a row. He also broke Monzón’s record with this fight, as he now has 15 consecutive middleweight title defenses under his belt.
• On April 23, 2016, he challenged American pro boxer, Dominic Wade, at ‘The Forum’ in Inglewood, California, US. He overcame Wade, who was unbeaten at the time, and successfully defended his interim middleweight belts from the WBA (Super), IBF, IBO, and WBC.
• On September 10, 2016, he added another feather to his crown by successfully defending his WBC, IBF, and IBO middleweight belts in a thrilling battle against British unbeaten IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook at ‘The O2 Arena in London, UK.
• On March 18, 2017, millions of spectators worldwide and a sold-out crowd at ‘Madison Square Garden’ witnessed a remarkable one-on-one battle dubbed “Middleweight Madness,” in which Golovkin fought all 12 rounds against American pro boxer Daniel Jacobs.
• He won again at ‘Middleweight Madness,’ regaining his WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, and IBO middleweight belts.
• On September 16, 2017, Golovkin faced Mexican boxer Canelo lvarez in front of a sellout crowd. The battle dubbed a “classic,” concluded in a split decision tie after 12 rounds. This was Golovkin’s first draw bout in his career.
• On May 5, 2018, he defeated American light middleweight title challenger Vanes Martirosyan at the ‘StubHub Center’ in Carson, California, to retain his WBC, WBA (Super), and IBO middleweight crowns.
• After a contentious tie with lvarez in September 2017, a rematch was on the horizon. On June 6, 2018, Golovkin’s IBF belts were stripped after he failed to follow some of the rules and refused to meet Ukrainian fighter Serhiy Derevianchenko.
• He faced lvarez again on September 15, 2018, in front of a sellout crowd at ‘T-Mobile Arena’ in Paradise, Nevada. The battle lasted 12 rounds, and the judges preferred lvarez and pronounced him the winner, a decision that was widely panned by spectators and the media. He was stripped of his WBA (Super), WBC, and IBO middleweight titles.
• He subsequently came back to defeat Canadian boxer Steve Rolls on June 8, 2019, at New York’s ‘Madison Square Garden.’ On October 5, he defeated Serhiy Derevianchenko to claim the vacant IBF and IBO middleweight titles.

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