Golovkin to face Steve Rolls at catchweight of 164

Press Release

17/04/2019

Golovkin to face Steve Rolls at catchweight of 164

It's a whole new ballgame for Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) who will bring his "Big Drama Show" back to New York City's Madison Square Garden for the first time in over two years ion Saturday, June 8th.  Golovkin, whose resume includes a twentyconsecutive middleweight title defenses (18 by way of knockout), will make hus DAZN debut against [unbeaten but untested] .  Steve Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs) from Toronto. The battle is scheduled for twelve rounds at a catchweight of 164 pounds.  Golovkin vs. Rolls kicks off the exclusive six-fight, three-year global partnership between GGG Promotions and DAZN, the sports streaming platform.
 
A two-city press tour, featuring both fighters, will take place next week, starting at Madison Square Garden on Monday, April 22nd and concluding in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 23rd.   Tickets go on sale Saturday, April 20th.
 
Notably, this will be the second of two major boxing events The Garden will host on back-to-back boxing weekends – both of which will be live exclusively on DAZN.  England's Anthony Joshua will make his United States and Madison Square Garden debut in a defense of his unified heavyweight title against Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller on June 1st [that fight is in jeopardy as Miller just failed a drug test], just one week before Golovkin’s highly anticipated return on June 8.
 
"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."   
 
"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.”
 
 “Gennady Golovkin is one of the top middleweights of all-time, and as part of DAZN’s growing roster of premiere fighters and our ongoing promise to deliver the best fights to fans, we are thrilled to kick off this exciting partnership at the iconic Madison Square Garden,” said Joseph Markowski, DAZN Executive Vice President, North America. “It will surely be an electric night and just the beginning of this next chapter of Golovkin’s impressive legacy.” 
 
Golovkin, 37, has reigned supreme in the Middleweight Division for nearly a decade.  Eighteen of his record 20 title defenses came by way of knockout -- a 90% ratio -- which is sure to remain the division's highest knockout percentage for a world champion.  Golovkin's tenure as champion ended when he lost a hotly disputed majority decision in a rematch with Canelo Alvarez last September.  A dominant amateur standout and Olympic Silver Medalist before turning professional in 2006, Golovkin's career has been on a historic trajectory, including a 23-fight victory-by-knockout streak and unifying the WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO World Middleweight Titles.  Golovkin has also proven himself to be box office gold.  He has sold out the most iconic arenas of the world, including Madison Square Garden, T-Mobile Arena, O2 Arena, The Fabulous Forum, and StubHub Center.
 
Rolls, 35, making his debut at The Garden, will be looking to ice Golovkin with his version of a Canadian cold front.  In December, via unanimous decision, Rolls defeated KeAndrae Leatherwood.  Rolls has stopped four of his last seven opponents while keeping his record perfect.
 
 
 
 
About DAZN:
 
DAZN is the largest global sports streaming platform in the world. Since launching in 2016, DAZN had expanded across four continents with the service available in the United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Japan, and soon to debut in Brazil. DAZN guarantees no long-term contract, no bundles, just affordable access to all the service's sports on connected devices including smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, games consoles and PCs. In the U.S., DAZN has made its mark as an attractive alternative to pay-per-view within the combat sports industry. The platform features more than 100 fight nights per year from Matchroom Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions, GGG Promotions, Bellator MMA, the World Boxing Super Series and Combate Americas. DAZN also features live MLB action each day of the season with its new daily show, ChangeUp.