Gennady Golovkin is boxing’s LeBron James

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    Gennady GolovkinFreddie Roach – the Hall of Fame trainer of four-division world champion Miguel Cotto and former eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao – expressed doubt whether a potential clash between the Kazakh powerhouse and his fighter would be a wise business decision.

    Speaking ahead of Cotto’s first defense of his WBC middleweight title against Aussie Daniel Geale in a 157 lb. catch-weight this weekend, Roach pointed towards a possible fight between his fighter and Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez as the more feasible of the two options.

    “That’s the biggest fight out there [Cotto vs. Canelo],” said Roach. “[Golovkin] still doesn’t bring enough to the table. He doesn’t sell any PPV’s. So, you’re fighting a tough guy for no money. It’s just business.”

    When Cotto steps inside the ring, he will be facing a man who was stopped by Golovkin inside the third round not even a year ago, yet Roach still isn’t convinced the undefeated champion is a big enough attraction.

    “He’s a very nice guy Golovkin]. I like the guy,” Roach said. “But the thing is that when Manny Pacquiao walked by and didn’t know who he was – I was surprised because most fighters know other fighters and Manny Pacquiao had no idea who he was. If Manny Pacquiao doesn’t know who one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world is, there’s a lot of people who don’t know [him].

    “And maybe that’s why he needs a little more exposure in America, I think. You have your choice of fighting two guys and so forth – are you going to fight the guy who is going to make you more money? That’s the guy you’re usually going to go with. It’s risk and reward.”

    Roach could not be any more delusional than he is right here.

    Golovkin’s most recent fight against a relatively unknown Willie Monroe Jr., which ended in a sixth-round TKO, peaked at 1.474 million viewers. Can you imagine the viewers that would tune in for a Cotto-Golovkin clash?

    Also, Golovkin’s fight against Martin Murray, which took place in Monaco, peaked at 938,000. Need I mention that the PPV numbers for Pacquiao-Algieri, which took place in Macau, were reminiscent to a box office flop in Hollywood?

    From my perspective, Golovkin-Canelo could be more financially lucrative than Cotto-Golovkin, and any of you can challenge me on that, or add your two cents.

    Abel Sanchez, Golovkin’s trainer, said this about how he trains his fighters to be.

    “I train all of my fighters to fight in the Mexican style, to be assassins,” said Sanchez. “It’s the only way you can protect yourself from bad decisions from the judges.”

    Based off Canelo’s last performance against James Kirkland, a destructive third-round KO, it would be ludicrous to say that a Golovkin-Canelo fight would not have the world’s attention, let alone the attention of a majority of Mexican boxing fans.

    Heck, it might even break the record set by Mayweather-Pacquiao. I know, I’m a little crazy. One can dream, right?

    Just over two weeks ago, Canelo said he would be willing to face Golovkin in the future. Golovkin is not one to play games.

    “No. Not for the future. I’m ready right now. I’m ready for Canelo and Cotto.”

    At this moment, Golovkin is like LeBron James in his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

    He is a PPV stud, but he will never be the PPV king until some top guys step up to be his dancing partner. In the end, their legacies will be sealed forever, win or lose.

    Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez could be Golovkin’s Chris Bosh or a Dwayne Wade, just that they’ll be punching the living hell out of each other for a lot of money.