NEW YORK -- The middleweight title bout between WBA/IBO champion Gennady Golovkin and top contender Daniel Geale became official Friday when each fighter weighed in below the required 160-pound limit.
Gaele stepped on the scale first and checked in at 159.2 pounds. Golovkin made the bout official with a weight of 159.8 pounds. They will meet Saturday night (HBO, 9:30 ET/PT) at Madison Square Garden.
Golovkin (29-0-0, 26 KO) will enter the ring as the renowned power puncher, and looked the part standing next to the lithe Aussie, Geale (30-2-0, 16 KO). At the final press conference on Wednesday, Golovkin and his trainer Abel Sanchez discussed the possibility of Golovkin adding Geale to the list of knockout victims. Sanchez said that Golovkin has "God-given heavy hands," but also mentioned his rigorous training.
Golovkin camp hoping Geale brings out GGG's "ring intelligence"
"Everybody's reacted the same way," Sanchez said of opponents feeling Golovkin's power. "From the first fight that I worked with him he hit a young man in Panama with a little body shot and his eyes got huge, he backed up, and he laid down and that was it. [Gabriel] Rosado too, as soon as he got hit he was on a bicycle."
Golovkin chimed in after Rosado's name was brought up, mentioning that after their fight Rosado asked him, "What do you eat?"
Win Everlast glove SIGNED by Gennady Golovkin!
Geale looked impressive as well. To the naked eye he looked much smaller than Golovkin, but his light, slender frame should serve him well Saturday night since he told Sports World News his goal is "not giving him an easy target."
The co-feature, a highly anticipated matchup between undefeated heavyweights Mike "The Rebel" Perez and Bryant "By By" Jennings, featured a stark difference in weight. While both men appeared in good physical shape Jennings weighed in at a shredded 226.6 lbs, while Perez was a compact 242.2 lbs.
During a conference call, Jennings told Sports World News that Perez reminded him of Andrey Fedosov, whom Jennings (18-0-0, 10 KO) fought in June 2013. "He has some of the same tactics that Perez brings. Perez is better, and quicker, but I'd compare him and somewhat of his approach-- height length, short punches to Fedesov.
While Perez (20-0-1, 12 KO) was underwhelming in his last bout, a draw with a low-profile fighter named Carlos Takam, but he was very impressive in the bout prior to that, a unanimous decision win over Magomed Abdusalamov. He was able to outbox the taller opponent, and flashed tremendous hand speed for a heavyweight.
Abdusalamov had entered the Perez fight 18-0 with 18 knockouts, and fought well despite losing, but had to be placed into a medically induced coma to combat a blood clot that had formed on his brain. While in the coma Abdusalamov suffered a stroke, further endangering his survival.
Abdusalamov has made progress since that bout, but is not expected to fight again.
The hand speed and boxing ability Perez learned as a Cuban amateur and showed vs. Abdusalamov will be put to the test against the durable Jennings--although with a 20-lb. advantage before re-hydrating, Jennings may feel the sting of Perez's short punches.
Undercard Weigh-In Results:
Julian Rodriguez (141.6) vs. Yankton Southern (140.6)
Dusty Hernandez-Harrison (147.6) vs. Wilfredo Acuna (147.8)
Ola Afolabi (198.6) vs. Anthony Caputo Smith (199.2)
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