6/8 DAZN: Gennadiy Golovkin vs Steve Rolls

[patscorpio]

Gennady Golovkin's ring return is set. The former unified middleweight world champion will take on unbeaten -- but largely unknown -- Steve Rolls on June 8 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The fight, a 12-rounder at a contract weight of 164 pounds, was officially announced on Tuesday and will be the first bout of the three-year, six-fight, nine-figure deal Golovkin signed with sports streaming service DAZN on March 8.

The fighters will see each other face-to-face during their two-city media tour beginning Monday at Madison Square Garden, followed by another event on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

"I am very excited to be returning to the ring and bringing the 'Big Drama Show' back to Madison Square Garden," Golovkin said. "The Garden's fans are fantastic. 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."


Golovkin has headlined at Madison Square Garden's main arena three times, drawing raucous crowds for bouts with Daniel Jacobs, Daniel Geale and David Lemieux, but he has not boxed there since the fight with Jacobs in 2017.

Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs), 37, a Kazakhstan native living in Santa Monica, California, will be fighting for the first time since losing a very close majority decision to Canelo Alvarez in their contentious September rematch that cost him his 160-pound belts and kept him from a division-record-breaking 21st consecutive title defense.

If Golovkin defeats Rolls, and if Alvarez (who also has a long-term deal with DAZN) defeats Jacobs in their world title unification bout on May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Alvarez-Golovkin III is likely to take place in September.

Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs), 34, of Toronto, is unbeaten but has faced extremely limited opposition. He is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision against journeyman KeAndrae Leatherwood in December in Toronto. He said he was thrilled to get a chance to fight one of the biggest stars in boxing.

"I want to sincerely thank DAZN and GGG himself for giving me the opportunity to challenge one of the best fighters in the world," Rolls said. "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."

Golovkin-Rolls will mark the first time in decades that the Madison Square Garden main arena will host boxing cards in back-to-back weeks. England's Anthony Joshua is scheduled to make his United States debut in a defense of his unified heavyweight title against New Yorker Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller on DAZN's June 1 card.

Rolls got the fight over others who were in the running, including Brandon Adams (21-2, 13 KOs), 29, of Los Angeles, who won the Epix reboot of "The Contender" reality series in November, and Cameroon's Hassan N'Dam (37-3, 21 KOs), 35, a former middleweight world titlist who fights out of France.

Adams elected to accept an offer to challenge interim middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo in a Premier Boxing Champions bout being planned for June or July, and GGG's team decided it preferred Rolls over N'Dam.

"We went through a number of names, and for Gennady's first fight on DAZN they liked that Steve Rolls is from Canada because they want to boost their subscriptions in the Canadian market. So that was one factor in Rolls getting the fight," said Tom Loeffler, the managing director of GGG Promotions. "But they also liked that he is undefeated and that he is a hungry fighter."

 

[patscorpio]

DAZN Unites With Mark Wahlberg, Film 45 For Multi-Series Pact

Ahead of Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin’s debut on DAZN against Steve Rolls at Madison Square Garden on June 8, DAZN announces a multi-series partnership with Mark Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas and Peter Berg’s Film 45, which will begin with the latest edition of 40 DAYS featuring a behind-the-scenes look at Golovkin vs. Rolls.

Unrealistic Ideas, the non-scripted production company formed by world-renowned actor and producer Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levison and Archie Gips, along with Film 45, helmed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Berg, will executive produce 40 DAYS: GOLOVKIN-ROLLS ahead of their middleweight showdown, live on DAZN. Wahlberg and Berg are avid boxing fans with a well-known track record for success in the boxing world. In 2010, Wahlberg starred as Micky Ward in The Fighter and in 2012, Film 45 produced the ON Freddie Roach boxing docu-series on HBO.

"As a longtime boxing fan, I am excited to be partnering with DAZN to highlight Gennadiy and his unique approach leading up to a fight," says Mark Wahlberg of Unrealistic Ideas.

The former middleweight world champion Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) will make his DAZN debut against undefeated challenger Steve Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, June 8. This will be Golovkin’s first time back in the ring after a hotly-contested decision loss against Canelo Alvarez in the fall of 2018. GGG Promotions and DAZN recently announced the six-fight global partnership that will see Golovkin fight the remainder of his career on the platform.

“It takes a lot of hard work to put on the Big Drama Show,” said Golovkin. “40 DAYS was in training camp from start to finish. Boxing fans will see it all, as Johnathon Banks and I prepare for war at the Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden.”

The 40 DAYS documentary title is derived from the grueling preparation for a prizefight that requires roughly eight weeks of Monday-Friday intense training. 40 DAYS: GOLOVKIN-ROLLS follows the success of the first two editions of the series. DAZN partnered with LeBron James and Maverick Carter of UNINTERRUPTED for the Canelo vs. Jacobs middleweight title clash, and then teamed up with Meek Mill and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation for a look at the heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz, Jr.

“40 DAYS is a series that links world famous boxers with gifted storytellers to give fight fans a unique view of the arduous eight-week preparation for a fight,” says Jamie Horowitz, EVP Content DAZN North America. “When we visited GGG at his camp in Big Bear, we asked him whom he thought would best tell his story -- he immediately asked for Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg.”

40 DAYS: GOLOVKIN-ROLLS will serve as the first endeavor between Unrealistic Ideas, Film 45 and DAZN. Additional projects will be announced in the coming months.

 

[malbaker86]

I'm intrigued to see how GGG looks. Hope this goes at least 6 rounds and actually, I think it does.

 

[LeVraiPapi]

Steve Rolls brehs? This dude is something else with his cherry picking. Then, he's gonna call out Nelo again for another payday

 

[Black_Jesus]

Only 3 comments

 

[wingstop]

Rolls is 35 years old and has only been scheduled for a 10 rounder once. This is a next level cherry, unbelievable.

 

[trick]

Can't believe this is at MSG and not the Hulu Theatre, shyt is going to be empty as hell

 

[R=G]

Get this bullshyt out of here

 

[Recca Gatsby]

Straight dogshyt

 

[desjardins]

Trash fight.
I wonder if Canelo even has any interest in fighting GGG again, he got two gifts and might just wanna move on to fight at higher weights at this point
I guess GGG can run it back with Jacobs worse case, either way he got the bag

 

[Scottie Drippin]

Only reason to watch this fight is to try to catch a glimpse at how much GGG has lost, whether or not he should even be in the ring with the top dudes in the division anymore. Looked like a shell of his former self in the rematch.

Definitely looks in considerably better shape this time around, but if he still isn't moving his head like he used to, body punching, or throwing combos then he should call it a career. For a fighter like him, the line between monster and punching bag for the elite is super thin.

 

[patscorpio]

Gennady Golovkin vs. Steve Rolls - Undercard Information

Title fights, battles between unbeatens, and crosstown rivalries highlight the undercard battles of Gennadiy "GGG" Golovkin vs. Steve Rolls – taking place Next Saturday, June 8, at Madison Square Garden and streamed live on DAZN beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.

"Ali Akhmedov and Brian Ceballo have earned their way onto this undercard, but now they have to earn their right to move up and that won't be easy since they are both in deep. They are in wars," said Tom Loeffler of GGG Promotions. "The fans should see a lot of fireworks on June 8 from Israil Madrimov, Nikita Ababiy and Charles Conwell, as well. They have a combined record of 15-0 with 13 of their victories coming by way of knockout."

In the co-main event, scheduled for 10 rounds, undefeated super middleweight contenders Ali Akhmedov and Marcus McDaniel will face off for the vacant WBC International Super Middleweight title. Ahkmedov (14-0, 10 KOs), from Almaty, Kazakhstan, and one of the rising stars on the GGG Promotions roster, enters this fight having claimed six of his last eight victories by knockout. McDaniel (15-0, 2 KOs), from New Orleans, enters this fight fresh from an impressive unanimous decision victory over Brian Vera in February.

In a battle of undefeated Brooklyn brawlers, Brian Ceballo (8-0, 4 KOs) and Bakhtiyar Eyubov (14-0-1, 12 KOs) will be slugging it out in an eight-round welterweight battle for borough supremacy. Ceballo, who has already fought twice this year, extended his undefeated record on April 10 with a third-round stoppage of Ricardo Garcia. Eyubov also seems to be gaining strength. His last victory was a seventh round TKO of once-beaten Nicholas Givan.

Matchroom Boxing's highly-touted prospect Israil "The Dream" Madrimov (2-0, 2 KOs), from Khiva, Uzbekistan, who has only fought in 10-rounders since turning professional, will risk his top-10 world-rating when he takes on battle-tested Norberto "Domino" Gonzalez (23-12, 13 KOs), from Monterrey, Mexico, in a 10-round super welterweight bout.

Former U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell (9-0, 7 KOs) from Cleveland, promoted by DiBella Entertainment, will be taking a big step up when he looks to end the three-year unbeaten streak of Brooklyn's Courtney Pennington (12-3-3, 5 KOs). Scheduled for 10 rounds, they will be battling for the vacant USBA junior middleweight title.

The DAZN live stream will open with Matchroom Boxing's power-punching middleweight Nikita "White Chocolate" Ababiy (4-0, 4 KOs), from Brooklyn, in a six-round bout. So far, only one opponent has made it to the second round, but not by much -- :26 seconds! Ababiy's opponent will be announced soon.

The card will open with a non-televised four-round welterweight bout between local favorite Johnathan Arroyo (3-0-1, 1 KO) from Brentwood, NY and Jordan Morales, a veteran of 10 fights, from Sunbury, Pennsylvania.

 

[LauderdaleBoss]

Trash fight.
I wonder if Canelo even has any interest in fighting GGG again, he got two gifts and might just wanna move on to fight at higher weights at this point
I guess GGG can run it back with Jacobs worse case, either way he got the bag

Nah anything but a fukking Jacobs rematch. Jacobs big ass should be trying to get a fight with BJS at super middle or something.

 

[patscorpio]

the undercard is a typical DAZN one...full of prospects..they get their shine i guess..but ever since i saw dude nearly kill somebody almost right in front of me, madrimov is the only one whose fight im interested in

 

[The Ruler 09]

Trash fight.
I wonder if Canelo even has any interest in fighting GGG again, he got two gifts and might just wanna move on to fight at higher weights at this point
I guess GGG can run it back with Jacobs worse case, either way he got the bag

GGG is supposed to be fights by Canelo later in the year.