New Role Outside the Boxing Ring

Gennadiy Golovkin continuing his life with a new role outside of boxing that made his name famous. Despite harboring hopes that Gennady Golovkin might have one more fight before retiring, his promoter, Tom Loeffler, now believes that we may have seen the last of the Kazakh middleweight in the ring. “I always hope for one more fight, whether it’s a farewell fight in Kazakhstan, or one of the fights you see in the Middle East, that kind of thing,” Loeffler told BoxingScene.

But with the announcement from Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee in February that Golovkin would be its new president, Loeffler admitted that the chances of such a match were now slim. “It’s a very high position in Kazakhstan – he’s not only the head of Olympic boxing in the country, he’s also the head of every sport on Kazakhstan’s national Olympic team. So, it’s a full-time job for him.”

If this is indeed the end of the road, as it seems, for the 42-year-old Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs), Loeffler said she can look back fondly on the journey they’ve been on together, especially after Golovkin first appeared on HBO in in 2012. “He was very dominant,” he said.

“There’s no chink in his armor, whether he can take a hit, whether he can land a hit. When I first met Triple G, [pelatih] Abel [Sanchez] said that he had never felt someone hit so hard on the canvas and that Abel had a long list of world champions. And this is manifested by his one-punch knockout power, whether through body strikes against Matthew Macklin or at Madison Square Garden against Daniel Geale.

The knockout win over Geale, who submitted in the third round in July 2014, is one that sticks out in Loeffler’s memory. “That was the first time I’d seen that: getting hit hard on the chin, then a split second later knocking Geale out with one punch.”

The only challenge while Golovkin is at the top, according to Loeffler, is finding enough quality opponents willing to fight him. “I’ve worked with a number of world champions and I’ve never had trouble getting someone to challenge a champion. He has a lot of world titles. You have the opportunity to fight for the title. And the promoters will turn him down,” he said.

“There were so many times where the challengers made the same amount of money as the champion, which was unheard of at the time. But we had to pay them more, just to get them in the ring with Gennady. But it was a fun ride. The Mexican fans love his style, he is truly one of the most universally loved champions, they appreciate his style in the ring. They appreciate his humility and character outside of the ring. It’s been a great ride with Triple G .”

Golovkin hasn’t fought since he lost on points to Saul Canelo Alvarez in 2022 in their third fight, and Loeffler said that when the Kazakh vacated his IBF and WBA middleweight belts, he instead made mandatory defenses against Esquiva Falcao and Erislandy Lara , he felt that his journey was over. “There’s no point,” Loeffler said.

“He has achieved a lot in his career. He has had so many title defenses around the world: selling out the O2 Arena in London [melawan Kell Brook pada tahun 2016]fought Ryoto Murata and sold out the Saitama Arena [pada tahun 2022]a special evening against Martin Murray in Monaco [pada tahun 2015] when we had Prince Albert and Princess Charlene at ringside. There are so many great memories with Triple G, and he seems to feel like he has achieved everything he wanted in the world of boxing.”

If Golovkin does decide not to return to the ring, Loeffler doubts he will make an official announcement. “It seemed like he was just going to get on with his life,” she said. “It’s a great position he has earned in Kazakhstan. So, I’m sure he will continue his career. Still involved in sports, but not actively in the ring.”

(aww)