Boxing legend Gennady Golovkin now has a full-time job
Former middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin welcomes a new focus into his life, with the Kazakh’s decorated boxing career finally coming to an end.
GGG’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, revealed on Wednesday that, despite rumours of a potential comeback, a return to the ring for the fearsome puncher is highly unlikely.
Instead, Golovkin – now president of the Kazakh National Olympic Committee – will be representing his home nation in a vastly different sense.
Speaking with Boxing Scene, Loeffler said: “I was always hoping for one more fight, whether it was a farewell fight in Kazakhstan, or one of these matchups you see in the Middle East.
“He’s not only the head of Olympic boxing in the country, he’s the head of every sport of the national Olympic team in Kazakhstan. So, that’s a full-time job for him.
“It seems like he’s just going to get on with his life. It’s a big position that he’s been appointed to in Kazakhstan.
“So, I believe he’ll just get on with his career. Staying involved with sport, but not actively in the ring.”
Towards the end of his stellar amateur career, Golovkin won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004, when he beat Andre Dirrell before falling short in the final.
Then, as a professional, he became widely regarded as an avoided champion, with his immense punch-power giving many fighters a valid reason not to step into the ring with him.
British fighters Kell Brook and Matthew Macklin will both know, from first-hand experience, just how relentless Golovkin can be, as he hammered away with an onslaught of crushing blows from the opening round of every fight.
Finally, in 2017, he was involved in a colossal pay-per-view night against Canelo Alvarez, a fight that resulted in a draw but, in the eyes of most fans, he had done enough to win.