An encore of a year loaded with explosive signs of renewal might be a tall order, but chances of one in 2013 are there on the calendar’s opening page with the New Year’s first marquee card featuring Gennady Golovkin in a Home Box Office bout against tough Gabriel Rosado on Jan. 19 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Last year will be remembered for the Juan Manuel Marquez punch that knocked out Manny Pacquiao in early December. There’s a lot of talk about Marquez-Pacquiao V. No surprise there. Who wouldn’t want to see another one? But it’s a fight that figures to stand alone. It’s already a classic, probably because no encore is possible. That right hand from Marquez might represent goodbye to a rich era memorable more for what happened than what didn’t in all the futile speculation about Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. Time to move on, or at least take a closer look at those who might carry the business into the next era.
Golovkin has the look of somebody who can.
Golovkin’s 2012 was a season of introducing himself to the U.S. market after years of learning and refining his craft in Europe. In Germany, the Kazakhstani middleweight was a name. In 2012, he became a marketable face. In 2013, the guess is that he will take another step in a process. If last year was an introduction, the New Year promises to be one in which he becomes the fighter everybody avoids. By everybody, we mean Sergio Martinez, Andre Ward and anybody else who would have much to lose against Golovkin. On the risk-and-reward scale, Golovkin is still too much of a gamble. But that scale can change with fights and media.
Golovkin isn’t wasting any time. His potential signature on 2013 begins in the New Year’s first month and on the network that looks for stars and creates them. If Golovkin remains unbeaten and HBO’s interest stays in place, it won’t be long before the reward outweighs the risk enough to attract Ward or Martinez into one of the biggest fights since, say, Marquez-Pacquiao IV.
For Golovkin, the immediate task is Rosado, who also has much to gain on Jan. 19. The guess here is that Rosado will challenge Golovkin for a few rounds. But Golovkin’s overall skill set will prove to be too much for Rosado, who has campaigned mostly at 154 pounds. Golovkin was prepared to fight at a catch weight, 158. Rosado said no. The contract was subsequently amended. They’ll fight at the traditional 160. I’m not sure two pounds make much difference, but they were worth their weight in terms of publicity and what they said about both fighters.
Golovkin has always said he’s willing to fight at almost any weight. Two pounds were a concession to Rosado and a confirmation of Golovkin’s willingness to move up and down scale. Rosado’s demand for 160 indicates an old-school determination to do things without gamesmanship as tired as it is annoying.
“I don’t want any excuses,’’ Rosado said Wednesday in a news release.
That’s as good a resolution as any for a new generation that in a New Year has a chance to pick up where last year ended.
ANECDOTES FROM OUTSIDE THE ROPES
· In a sure sign that Jose Canseco has fallen off the financial cliff and can’t get up, the former baseball slugger and steroid accuser/user says he wants to fight Shaquille O’Neal in an MMA bout sometime in 2013.
· By most accounts, the Latin vote was a key to President Barack Obama’s re-election in November. Can’t help but think that the emerging American demographic was also a reason for last year’s rebound in the boxing business, which included a return to NBC and CBS.
· Ray Lewis is retiring after 17 years as a Baltimore Ravens linebacker. Lewis was often mentioned as an example of what’s happened to the heavyweight division. To wit: America’s best heavyweights are all playing in the NFL these days. Lewis might have been a great American heavyweight. But we’re hoping that means he doesn’t announce a comeback in a few months.
AZ NOTES
Michelle Rosado of Phoenix returns to the promotional ring on Friday, Jan. 18 at the Arizona Event Center in Mesa with a card scheduled to include popular super-bantamweight Emilio Colon-Garcia. First bell is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
