Gennady Golovkin looks to make Las Vegas debut soon

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Gennady “GGG” Golovkin is a rock star on both coasts of the United States.

The most feared boxer in the sport since Mike Tyson has filled the Forum in the Los Angeles area and sold out Madison Square Garden in New York.

Golovkin is arguably a bigger celebrity in Eastern Europe, where he started his dynamic career. He fought his first 12 professional bouts in Germany.

The undefeated boxer will be in action Saturday against unknown challenger Dominic Wade of Largo, Maryland, at the Forum, with Golovkin’s World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation middleweight titles on the line. Both fighters made the 160-pound weight Friday, with Golovkin stepping onto the scale at 159 and Wade at 159.6.

Wade (18-0, 12 knockouts) is a 30-1 underdog, and the over-under is 6.5 rounds, according to William Hill.

The fighter from Kazakhstan has been adopted by the Mexican-American community in Los Angeles because of his ruthless demeanor in the ring. Golovkin, who has knocked out his past 21 opponents, calls his technique “Mexican Style.”

Nike’s Jordan Brand also wanted a piece of Golovkin’s stardom and signed the middleweight champion this month. Only two other boxers have sported the jumpman logo in the ring, Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr.

Las Vegas, the epicenter of boxing, has yet to experience the greatness of Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin, or “Triple G” for short.

Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) has thrown his devastating punches in Monte Carlo, just not the hotel-casino on the Strip. Three of Triple G’s fights have been in Monaco.

“(Golovkin) definitely wants to fight in Vegas,” said Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter. “We’re really looking forward to the right opponents, and it’s hard to get opponents to agree to fight Gennady, but he definitely would like to fight in Vegas, for sure.”

With Wade given little chance to dethrone Golovkin, it’s easy to say what’s next for the Kazakh.

The boxing world is hoping for a mega showdown in the fall between Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

Like Triple G, Alvarez is feared and beloved. A fight of that magnitude would be the perfect way for Golovkin to make his Las Vegas debut.

But the dream matchup could be on hold until 2017 and possibly taken to a city with a stadium.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO and chairman Oscar De La Hoya, Alvarez’s promoter, has recently said he wants the fight hype to marinate, and has flirted with the idea of taking the bout to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

De La Hoya has control of the negotiations, including the catch weight, since Alvarez brings in more money than Golovkin. Golovkin has struggled to generate pay-per-view fights because prominent fighters have avoided the power puncher.

Despite the lack of big-money fights, Loeffler turned Golovkin into a household name by taking the “Big Drama Show” — as Triple G likes to call his matches — to the two biggest cities in America.

“We want it to be a premier event when Gennady goes to Vegas,” Loeffler said. “So that’s really what we’re looking for. His fan base here in Los Angeles and in New York sells a lot of tickets, so it’s nice getting attention here with the fans, but we definitely look forward to coming to Las Vegas and putting on a good show.”

Golovkin is 34, and with Mayweather and Pacquiao retiring, the time could be soon for Sin City to get its own “Big Drama Show.”

“I would love to stay in this area,” said Abel Sanchez, who has trained Golovkin since he arrived to the U.S. six years ago. “Trust me, I don’t like going on a plane. I rather just stay home (Los Angeles) and fight here or fight in Vegas. Golovkin lives in Los Angeles, so it’s easy for us to train and to go to the fights.”

Sanchez predicts Golovkin has four to five prime years left and doesn’t want him wasting time by chasing the big names of boxing.

Golovkin wants to leave his mark in boxing history by unifying the middleweight belts.

“I understand my motivation is my goal for all the belts in the middleweight division,” said Golovkin, who also holds the World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Council interim middleweight belts. “I have motivation.”

Loeffler said Richard Sturm, the president of entertainment and sports for the MGM, has reached out multiple times to get Golovkin to fight at one of the MGM venues.

Golovkin could easily fill up the 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena after selling out Madison Square Garden in October. Loeffler expects another sold-out show with 16,000 on Saturday at the Forum.

Las Vegas needs its next boxing superstar, and Triple G checks all the boxes.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter: @gmanzano24