Golovkin punching his way to stardom

With each fight and each knockout, Gennady Golovkin’s fan base grows and grows.

The 33-year-old middleweight champion from Kazakhstan doesn’t have Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s earning power or Manny Pacquiao’s overall popularity, but he can fight and knows how to entertain a crowd. He will put his undefeated record on the line tonight when he faces Willie Monroe Jr. at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., in a 12-round main event that will be televised on HBO.

Golovkin said unifying the titles in the middleweight division and being No. 1 is important as he tries to gain additional exposure.

“To me, it’s very important who’s No. 1 in the world,” Golovkin said. “That’s why I want to unify the titles.”

Golovkin’s remarks are aimed at Miguel Cotto, the World Boxing Council champion who will defend his title June 6 in Brooklyn, N.Y., against Daniel Geale. Golovkin, the interim WBC champion and World Boxing Association’s “super” champ, hopes to meet Cotto in a unification bout this year.

If not, perhaps a fight with Canelo Alvarez could be made. Alvarez, a former world junior middleweight champ, demolished James Kirkland last Saturday in Houston, scoring an impressive third-round knockout. Afterward, Alvarez said he would welcome a fight with Golovkin.

Golovkin, who turned pro in 2006, didn’t fight in the United States until 2012. He has fought five of his past eight bouts in the U.S., with the other three in Monaco. In his last fight, he won by technical knockout in the 11th round against Martin Murray on Feb. 21 in Monte Carlo.

Now, Golovkin (32-0, 29 knockouts) looks to take care of Monroe (19-1, six KOs). Both fighters made the 160-pound limit at Friday’s weigh-in, with Golovkin weighing 159 and Monroe 160.

It’s a fight Monroe said he wanted.

“When all the blogs and different interviews, they asked me what middleweight would you like to fight?” he said. “I said, ‘Gennady Golovkin.’ I mean, he’s the best. So you either go hard or go home.”

While Golovkin is the star of tonight’s show, he’s not alone. Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, the WBC flyweight champion, defends his title against Edgar Sosa, the No. 2 challenger, in the 12-round co-feature.

Gonzalez (42-0, 36 KOs) fights at 112 pounds, but he’s a fierce puncher and, along with Golovkin, is considered one of boxing’s top pound-for-pound performers after Mayweather.

“I know Edgar well and know what challenges he poses,” Gonzalez said. “But I will be well prepared for victory.”

Gonzalez, a 27-year-old from Managua, Nicaragua, has fought once in Las Vegas. He retained his WBA junior flyweight title with a second-round knockout of Omar Soto on Oct. 1, 2011, at the MGM Grand ballroom.

He is now looking to dominate at 112 pounds, and while flyweights don’t get the exposure in the U.S. that higher weight classes tend to, Gonzalez has a strong following among hardcore boxing fans, much like Golovkin.

The HBO telecast begins at 7 p.m.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.