Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, the WBA and IBO middleweight champion, said that he's in no rush to fight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez after Alvarez viciously knocked out James Kirkland Saturday night in front of more than 30,000 fans at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
Golovkin, who knows a few things about knocking people out, said that he was impressed with how Alvarez fought even if he was in the ring with a tailor made opponent.
Gennady Golovkin talks Alvarez-Kirkland, and future super fights
"It was a good performance, an amazing performance. Kirkland, he is perfect for Canelo. His style, his speed is perfect for Canelo. It was expected. He's a great champion, a good guy," Golovkin said.
Kirkland was aggressive and tough; he appeared to rock Alvarez early and spent much of the first round winging body shots that landed while Alvarez was backed into the corner. Kirkland's downfall was the reckless abandonment of his defense, which allowed Alvarez to time him and counter with power shots that couldn't miss the mark. There were immediate calls for Alvarez to move to 160 pounds and face Golovkin, but GGG doesn't think things need to move that fast.
"I think me and Canelo at 160 is a good fight for next May. He's ready for 160, maybe on Cinco de Mayo something like that because first he wants to fight Cotto at 154," Golovkin said.
Golovkin badly wants to face Miguel Cotto, the WBC middleweight champion, but Cotto, an undersized middleweight, prefers an Alvarez fight in the fall and has sought out a "step-aside" deal for GGG. Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler said that Golovkin may consider stepping aside if there's significant financial benefit, as well as a guarantee from both Alvarez and Cotto that the winner will face him next.
When asked how a fight vs. Alvarez would play out, Golovkin grinned and said he expected a "Mexican style" bout. This time though, he'd be in the squared circle with the most popular Mexican fighter in the world.
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