Gennady Golovkin has accepted a million-dollar bet from Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Sports World News reported that Golovkin was initially excited to face Miguel Cotto and try to win the WBC middleweight belt after previously knocking out Martin Murray on February 21. Instead of Cotto, another boxer has expressed his interest in fighting Golovkin.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. posted on February 22 on Twitter about Golovkin, "Without his power he's not that good of a boxer, I'll bet you GGG a million dollar of the purse that I'll knock you out if we fight .." Chavez added another tweet saying , "Come to my weight class @GGGBoxing," which is 168 or 170 and added, "But first, [I] need to beat @andrzej_fonfara and [he] is bigger and stronger [than Golovkin]".
Fanatix reported that Chavez (48-1-1, 32 KOs) challenged Golovkin to go up to 168 pounds to face him.
Tom Loeffler, Golovkin's manager, was quick to respond to the challenge. Loeffler said that Golovkin is willing to accept the million-dollar bet despite their objective of taking out Cotto primarily.
Loeffler said in the same Sports World News, "Yes, great Tweet from him. It would actually be better if he agreed to fight instead of Tweet. If he beats (his next scheduled foe Andrzej) Fonfara, it would be a great fight with big ticket sales and a big drama show. GGG is ready for June!"
Loeffler said in a report by Boxing Scene, "[Golovkin] accepts the bet, sign the contract this time."
Boxing News 24 reported that Chavez is more likely to lose the $1 million, considering how GGG scored a knockout in the 11th round of his fight against Murray in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Although Fonfara is definitely bigger than Golovkin, Golovkin has a higher knockout percentage and may be as or more powerful than the 6'2" Fonfara.
Chavez Jr. will be facing Fonfara on April 18 while Golovkin will be fighting again on May 16, although the latter's opponent is yet to be announced. It is, however, unlikely that the two will ever meet in the ring anytime soon. In the same report by Boxing News 24, Chavez Jr's ex-promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank stated that he is still working out a deal for one more fight. Chavez and Golovkin were previously slated to face each other in 2014 but negotiations at the time had failed.
It is doubtful whether Chavez Jr. was really serious in challenging Golovkin. Chavez appears only to be seeking attention for his upcoming fight and trying to take away the spotlight from GGG after his recent win.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
