By Barry Holbrook: Trainer Johnathon Banks revealed this week that Gennadiy Golovkin will be facing his IBF mandatory Kamil Szeremeta next instead of facing Canelo Alvarez.
It’s believed that one of the MAJOR reasons DAZN signed Canelo and Golovkin was for them to fight each other. For them still not have to have done that, it’s sad. Canelo has had two easy fights against Sergey Kovalev and Rocky Fielding on his DAZN contract.
The one good opponent that Canelo fought was Daniel Jacobs, and he almost lost to him. Canelo was supposed to face WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, who is viewed as the weakest of the 168-pound champions.
Kovalev was seen as the weakest of the 175-lb champions when Canelo fought him. Canelo didn’t choose IBF/WBC champion Artur Beterbiev, who many fans believe would have punched holes through the Mexican star.
When boxing starts back up, DAZN will need the BEST fights to bring back their subscribers. If fighters like Golovkin are going to taking title-milking fights against obscure opponents like Szeremeta, it won’t be suitable for DAZN.
Even many of the U.S hardcore fans don’t know who Szeremeta is. If they don’t know who he is, then you can bet the casuals have never heard of him either.
There’s a time and place for Golovkin to be taking fights against guys like Szeremeta, but it’s not a good idea for him to make this his first fight back when the lockdown ends.
Even though Canelo wants to face GGG in September, he’ll instead be taking what amounts to being a tune-up fight against Szeremeta (21-0, 5 KOs).
If Golovkin does face Szeremeta, this would be his second tune-up in the first three fights on his DAZN contract.
GGG has fought these guys since inking with DAZN
- Steve Rolls
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko
Golovkin should give Derevyanchenko a rematch
Banks says he didn’t want Golovkin to fight Derevyanchenko. He thought that would be a tough fight for him, but he took it anyway. It’s a good thing that Golovkin took the battle with Derevyanchenko because it would look bad if all of his fights with DAZN were easy opponents.
Banks wants to get the 38-year-old Golovkin sharper for the Canelo fight. In theory, the 30-year-old Szeremeta should prepare him for that. But given Szeremeta’s lack of talent, Golovkin won’t get anything out of the fight.
Aside from another gimme level opponent on Golovkin’s DAZN contract, it’s a pure waste of time for him to take this fight. Beating up on Szeremeta won’t improve Golovkin to where he’ll perform better against Canelo in their trilogy fight.
For Golovkin to get anything out of his contests, he needs to face the best. If anything, he should be facing Derevyanchenko in a rematch rather than for the title-milking fight against Szeremeta. Although he’s Golovkin’s IBF mandatory, he doesn’t have to face him because the IBF hasn’t ordered it.
Golovkin has been a pro for 14 years, and he fought just last October. He’s been out of the ring roughly the same amount of time as Canelo, who fought last November. Taking another tune-up at this point is totally unnecessary for Golovkin.
It’s not going to help Golovkin for him to face Szeremeta at this point, and more than that. The timing is terrible for Golovkin to be taking a tune-up.
It would be a good idea for Golovkin to be a team player and agree to face Canelo when boxing restarts. DAZN needs the best fights immediately when things restart, and Golovkin choosing to face Szeremeta is a horrible idea.
It’s bad timing for Golovkin to face Szeremeta
“So when boxing returns, the first major fight could be the completion of the trilogy between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN. “The two have reportedly agreed to financial terms, paving the way for one of the most anticipated fights in boxing.
“But in an interview, Golovkin’s trainer Johnathon Banks has rejected the idea of fighting Canelo next, insisting that Golovkin get to face his lightly regarded challenger Kamil Szeremeta first. This is a fight, Canelo-Golovkin, that has been put off for over a year now. Do you think GGG needs another fight?”
“I think Canelo and GGG need a fight in between. We don’t know how fighters, athletes are going to react when this quarantine is over,” said Sergio Mora.
“We’ve been indoors, we’re going to be lethargic, and if we’re going to go in and fight a war with a monster, you need not a gimme fight, but a stay busy type fight before you go into another big fight.
“So I agree with Johnathon Banks. You don’t want to go straight into another war with Canelo after this layoff. You don’t know how your body is going to react.
“So a fight in between for both fighters, and then they can collide this time next year or September of 2021 or May can be a big holiday for them as well. So one of those two dates in May or September next year with a fight in between, that’s what works.”
Szeremeta would be a good choice for Golovkin as his last fight before retiring. It would be a throwaway fight, a guy that will give him a guaranteed win. That type of opponent is a bad one for GGG to face right off the back of the global pandemic.
Does Team Golovkin lack confidence in him?
“In an ideal world, sure, you have an interim fight for both of these guys,” said Mannix on Canelo and GGG. “Canelo fights Billy Joe Saunders, and Golovkin gets Szeremeta.
“I think for the purposes of promoting this fight, getting Golovkin back in the ring and having him score a big knockout would certainly help because his last two fights haven’t been all that impressive.
“I don’t really love the attitude of Team Golovkin right now. Golovkin and Banks have been working together for over a year now. Golovkin is 38-years-old, he’s a longtime middleweight champion, a two-time champion now, having won that belt off Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
“So how much more time does he actually need? Does he need more time to get acclimated to your trainer?
“Does he need more time to shake off the rust? I just don’t see it. This sort of procrastination, I don’t think it’s a good look for Golovkin. I think it shows that Team Golovkin isn’t that confident about their ability to win against Canelo.”
Does GGG’s team lack confidence in his ability to beat Canelo? If they want Golovkin to face Szeremeta without the fight even being ordered by the IBF, it makes you wonder. Why take this fight when the IBF hasn’t ordered it?
DAZN should push GGG to face Canelo next
“You don’t know what it’s like to be lethargic, to be inactive, and to go into a mega-fight like that?” said Mora in defending Golovkin’s decision to face Kamil Szeremeta next rather than Canelo. “I totally get Johnathon Banks. Whether time is on their side, okay, maybe it’s not,” Mora said of Golovkin. “He’s going to be 38-years-old.
“They’ve both been inactive, and that’s what kills any kind of sharpness in a boxer. Inactivity, that’s the number one killer. I get this. We don’t live in a perfect world, but I understand Johnathon Banks. Are they both going to have to readjust, Golovkin and Banks?
“Yes, but I get what he’s saying. But is he [Golovkin] going to have the luxury of getting that fight in between [against Szeremeta]?
“We’re going to see. Is it selfish? I don’t think so. It’s him taking care of his fighter and Johnathon Banks being a hell of a trainer because he’s doing what a lot of good and solid trainers do. That’s taking care of their fighter, getting a fight in between, and then go into a big fight.”
At 38, how many tune-ups does Golovkin need? His fight with Steve Rolls was a tune-up just before he faced Derevyanchenko, and he looked terrible in winning that fight by a controversial decision. Would Golovkin have looked worse against Derevyanchenko if he didn’t take the tune-up? I doubt it.
Szeremeta won’t prepare Golovkin for Canelo
“Okay, explain to me what is gained in a training camp for Szeremeta, and then knocking this guy out inside three rounds, which is the most likely scenario in that situation,” said Mannix about Golovkin.
“What does a guy like Golovkin, who has fought the best of the best in the last few years, who has fought mandatory challenge after mandatory challenge as a titleholder, what does he really gain out of fighting Kamil Szeremeta?”
“Look at any superstar’s resume. You’re going to get a Szeremeta type opponent in between big fights,” said Mora in justifying GGG taking a soft opponent for his next fight. “It’s to shake off the rust.
“That’s exactly what this is. He may not be a high-level opponent, but it’s just shaking off the rust, getting back in there and getting the juices flowing, getting the confidence, getting the knockout back.
“Look at what Steve Rolls did for Golovkin. It prepared him for a war against [Sergiy] Derevyanchenko. If Derevyanchenko fought him before Steve Rolls, that might have been a different story. Derevyanchenko might have stopped Golovkin, in my opinion.”
Szeremeta hasn’t beaten anyone during his career for him to be ranked #1 with the IBF, and the same goes for him being the mandatory for Golovkin. The Polish fighter’s last six wins have come against this obscure bunch:
- Oscar Cortes
- Edwin Palacios
- Andrew Francillette
- Ruben Diaz
- Alessandro Goddi
- Sebastian Skrzypczynski
Golovkin doesn’t have ring rust
“With Steve Rolls, he got that confidence, and he got that big drama show back, and he got people excited again,” said Mora in defending Golovkin taking soft fights. “That’s what it does.
“Whether it’s one or two rounds, it doesn’t matter. It gets the juices flowing again. You don’t start a car up in the cold when it’s freezing. You’re going to mess up the engine.”
“What rust are you talking about?” said Mannix. “Golovkin fought just six months ago. Canelo has the same level of layoff that Golovkin has going into a September showdown. Golovkin should not be rusty at this point.
“He got two fights in 2019, and he fought last October. He should be as sharp as he possibly can be at this point. I don’t understand this whole rust theory.
“This to me is all about Team Golovkin saying, ‘We’re not sure we can beat him [Canelo] right now. Maybe if we get an extra training camp and extra fight in, we’ll train and fight sharper, we’ll make the fighter more confident.’
‘There are a myriad of reasons why they [Golovkin] might want to delay. Shaking off the rust is one of them,” said Mannix.
If Golovkin needs a warm-up fight at this point in his busy career, it’s troubling. I don’t believe GGG needs a tune-up. I just see it as a situation where he’s milking his IBF title and taking as many easy fights as he can on his contract with DAZN. In other words, Golovkin going easy to avoid losing again.