GGG’s next opponent after Willie Monroe Jr?

[koolkc107]

What HBO has to realize is what Showtime has already reconciled itself to.

The PBC can be a tool to hype it's own fights.

You put good, eliminator style fights on the PBC.

Then you put the showdown fight on cable.

Everybody wins.

And exactly what "showdown" fight has PBC led to being on Showtime?

WTF?

Why would you even ask this question?

I was speculating on what could happen, not what has happened.

But the signs DO point to the relationship between Showtime and the PBC taking that shape.

They are hyping each others fights on broadcasts. No way HBO wouldn't like to get their upcoming fight hyped the same way on what is now clearly the most successful boxing venue out there right now.

And I will go out on a limb and predict Thurman, Broner, Quillen, Ghost, Peterson, Swift and others all do better numbers their next fights on Showtime because of the exposure on the PBC.

[walter5]

Nothing has changed for HBO's model. They're going to have their biggest one month stretch in 10 years after tonight and that's without a single Haymon fighter. How do you define the PBC as "successful" when the model is designed to hemorrhage millions of dollars? Nobody will know if the PBC is successful for at least 5 years. So no, I don't think HBO has to "realize" anything when they have probably their strongest roster of fighters in a decade.

[KBB]

Nothing has changed for HBO's model. They're going to have their biggest one month stretch in 10 years after tonight and that's without a single Haymon fighter. How do you define the PBC as "successful" when the model is designed to hemorrhage millions of dollars? Nobody will know if the PBC is successful for at least 5 years. So no, I don't think HBO has to "realize" anything when they have probably their strongest roster of fighters in a decade.

The ratings of PBC tells the story of its' success, that is all one needs to know. If you don't like watching boxing for free then go ahead and pay your high cable/satellite tv premiums and especially your PPV premiums but since I'm a huge boxing fan I can appreciate the accessibility of the sport I love, especially at my favorite price "FREE".

Why are people so negative about watching the sports fighter's for free? Haymon isn't the devil you know, if you want to point fingers then point them at networks like HBO and SHO who has held a stranglehold on this sport since it left free tv, blame all these promoters and alphabet organizations like WBA/WBC/WBO/IBF and all these types who has contained boxing in its' clutches and keeping us away from viewing it for free.

Haymon is actually helping a great degree to remedying the situation

[KBB]

Nothing has changed for HBO's model. They're going to have their biggest one month stretch in 10 years after tonight and that's without a single Haymon fighter. How do you define the PBC as "successful" when the model is designed to hemorrhage millions of dollars? Nobody will know if the PBC is successful for at least 5 years. So no, I don't think HBO has to "realize" anything when they have probably their strongest roster of fighters in a decade.

The ratings of PBC tells the story of its' success, that is all one needs to know. If you don't like watching boxing for free then go ahead and pay your high cable/satellite tv premiums and especially your PPV premiums but since I'm a huge boxing fan I can appreciate the accessibility of the sport I love, especially at my favorite price "FREE".

Why are people so negative about watching the sports fighter's for free? Haymon isn't the devil you know, if you want to point fingers then point them at networks like HBO and SHO who has held a stranglehold on this sport since it left free tv, blame all these promoters and alphabet organizations like WBA/WBC/WBO/IBF and all these types who has contained boxing in its' clutches and keeping us away from viewing it for free.

Haymon is actually helping a great degree to remedying the situation, he's just going to need to open up to doing business with other promoters.

[walter5]

Nothing has changed for HBO's model. They're going to have their biggest one month stretch in 10 years after tonight and that's without a single Haymon fighter. How do you define the PBC as "successful" when the model is designed to hemorrhage millions of dollars? Nobody will know if the PBC is successful for at least 5 years. So no, I don't think HBO has to "realize" anything when they have probably their strongest roster of fighters in a decade.

The ratings of PBC tells the story of its' success, that is all one needs to know. If you don't like watching boxing for free then go ahead and pay your high cable/satellite tv premiums and especially your PPV premiums but since I'm a huge boxing fan I can appreciate the accessibility of the sport I love, especially at my favorite price "FREE".

Why are people so negative about watching the sports fighter's for free? Haymon isn't the devil you know, if you want to point fingers then point them at networks like HBO and SHO who has held a stranglehold on this sport since it left free tv, blame all these promoters and alphabet organizations like WBA/WBC/WBO/IBF and all these types who has contained boxing in its' clutches and keeping us away from viewing it for free.

Haymon is actually helping a great degree to remedying the situation, he's just going to need to open up to doing business with other promoters.

Who said anything negative about boxing being free? Who said anything negative about Al Haymon? Who's pointing fingers at anyone? My point was simply that HBO is thriving right now under their current model and that anyone who even partially understands the way PBC is being financed right now understands that they will only be able to be judged as to whether they are a success or not years down the road. Of course boxing fans appreciate more fights on TV and having them on free networks. Nobody is disputing that.

Also, you think remedying the situation was reportedly buying time on ESPN for PBC and demanding that they no longer produce Friday Night Fights because of it? Tell me how that is good for boxing. What that does is destroy a huge revenue stream for mid level promoters in the United States.

[KBB]

Who said anything negative about boxing being free? Who said anything negative about Al Haymon? Who's pointing fingers at anyone? My point was simply that HBO is thriving right now under their current model and that anyone who even partially understands the way PBC is being financed right now understands that they will only be able to be judged as to whether they are a success or not years down the road. Of course boxing fans appreciate more fights on TV and having them on free networks. Nobody is disputing that.

Also, you think remedying the situation was reportedly buying time on ESPN for PBC and demanding that they no longer produce Friday Night Fights because of it? Tell me how that is good for boxing. What that does is destroy a huge revenue stream for mid level promoters in the United States.

Fair enough but to answer your question; PBC offers higher caliber fighters than FNF does, wouldn't you agree with that? The types of fights we see on PBC we'd normally have to pay for them as PPVs or as part of some big fighter's PPV card and IMHO that is how it is good for boxing.

Agree or disagree I think boxing is being elevated because of PBC.

[walter5]

The point I was making was that since ESPN was going to get paid for PBC they could have taken that money and it would have probably paid for their entire season of FNF and then some. From what I heard, if ESPN wanted to get paid for PBC they had to cancel FNF when they could have kept both.

I absolutely agree that boxing will be elevated from PBC, the question is will the model be sustainable?

I don't think we've seen a single fight on PBC yet that would headline on either HBO PPV or SHO PPV. Can a PPV star be built on network TV? That's a good question. I assume we'll find out in the next few years.

[caldo2025]

Max made a rare good point in his post fight Larry Merchant speech last night. He compared GGG to Hagler and how it wasn't until Roberto Duran put his hand up and jumped up in weight to challenge Marvelous that doors opened to more quality opponents.

IMO, that won't happen here. There's NO ONE in the Jr Middleweight/Super Welterweight divisions take that Duran role except maybe Canelo. That fight would be fantastic and I think Canelo is crazy enough to want that fight but it's CLEARLY not the right time for that one. That fight needs to simmer longer. Lemieux is not even close to ready and needs to bank some money first before putting it all on the line. GGG honestly admitted that Andre Ward needed more time as he just became a boxer again a few weeks ago. Cotto will never happen as he'll be FMJR's last fight and then they both will retire. So what's left?

GGG needs to move up and do the unthinkable if he really wants a war. GGG vs Kovalev. Time is a huge factor right now for GGG, he's 33! That's past prime and i even noticed his physique didn't look as chiseled last night as usual. GGG was 170lbs last night so he'll end up giving up 15 lbs or so on fight night but the money is moving up and challenging Kovalev or Adonis who's also old in fighting years.

GGG keeps fishing in a pond with no fish expecting to come home with a boat load of fish. He needs a new pond, new challenges and that light heavy division is stocked with some nice fish right now.

[crusader]

I don't think 33 is necessarily past-prime. Obviously he's not young for the sport but plenty of fighters don't start significantly slipping until several years past that.

Despite the sparring stories of GGG besting Kovalev I think GGG would get beaten up, as he's not big at MW and isn't the most difficult to hit, while Kovalev is not only a decent-sized LHW but a very good one who punches hard for the weight. GGG also made a $1.5 million purse against Monroe and nearly $1m against Rubio, so the money isn't bad at MW and his purses have steadily increased. There does seem to be a lack of notable opponents at 160, and I'm hoping that he can at least get a fight with someone like Lee or the N'dam/Lemieux winner this year and then next year face the Canelo-Cotto winner.

[diddy]

Nobody wants to see GGG rip off Andy Lee's face. Lee's punch resistance is horrible. He wouldn't last 3 rounds.

[ikorolev]

While Lee/N'Dam/Lemieux are unavailable, I think Loefler should try to make Lara fight so that Gennady shuts up a few more haters. If the fight can't be made due to the HBO/Haymon issue, at lest they would be able to say that they tried.

P.S. By stopping Lara, Gennady would also prove how much better he is than Canelo.

[david1963]

Nobody wants to see GGG rip off Andy Lee's face. Lee's punch resistance is horrible. He wouldn't last 3 rounds.

I think you're probably right about the outcome, but there's plenty of people who would pay to watch it happen.

[david1963]

Nobody wants to see GGG rip off Andy Lee's face. Lee's punch resistance is horrible. He wouldn't last 3 rounds.

I think you're probably right about the outcome, but there's plenty of people who would pay to watch it happen.

Andy Lee earned $1m for his defence of his WBO title against Peter Quillin. He’ll likely command similar sums for the rematch or if he decides to face the winner of next months Saunders-Eubank Jr. fight.

Meanwhile, K2 seem reluctant to move away from the $2m pot of money that they usually allocate to fund the fight purses of the pugilists involved in Golovkin’s main events and the top of the undercard.

The best purse a GGG opponents has earned to-date, was Daniel Geale’s $600K and Andy Lee isn’t that big of a name. So in order to see GGG engage in a title unification bout for the WBO belt anytime soon, K2 will have to outbid the likes of Lou DiBella (funded by Al Haymon’s PBC) or F.rank Warren, which I personally cannot see happening.

I don't see Lee holding on to his title for very long, so it appears that particular match won't be made. I still think it would be a popular fight if the promoters could make a deal.

[crusader]

Nobody wants to see GGG rip off Andy Lee's face. Lee's punch resistance is horrible. He wouldn't last 3 rounds.

I think you're probably right about the outcome, but there's plenty of people who would pay to watch it happen.

Andy Lee earned $1m for his defence of his WBO title against Peter Quillin. He’ll likely command similar sums for the rematch or if he decides to face the winner of next months Saunders-Eubank Jr. fight.

Meanwhile, K2 seem reluctant to move away from the $2m pot of money that they usually allocate to fund the fight purses of the pugilists involved in Golovkin’s main events and the top of the undercard.

The best purse a GGG opponents has earned to-date, was Daniel Geale’s $600K and Andy Lee isn’t that big of a name. So in order to see GGG engage in a title unification bout for the WBO belt anytime soon, K2 will have to outbid the likes of Lou DiBella (funded by Al Haymon’s PBC) or F.rank Warren, which I personally cannot see happening.

What is your source for Lee making $1m? Rafael reported that his purse was $500k, the same that Quillin was initially to earn, and got bumped to $625k only because Quillin failed to make weight. While Rafael suggested that Lee would earn more from European TV rights that figure wasn't disclosed to my knowledge.

[Horse]

While Lee/N'Dam/Lemieux are unavailable, I think Loefler should try to make Lara fight so that Gennady shuts up a few more haters. If the fight can't be made due to the HBO/Haymon issue, at lest they would be able to say that they tried.

P.S. By stopping Lara, Gennady would also prove how much better he is than Canelo.

Yeah, Lara looks like the best realistic next opponent for Golovkin.

[Badhusker]

Probably Lara. I kind of wish Andrade would move up and fight somebody, since he isn't fighting anyone at 154. He has the size to be a full super middle at least in a couple of years. Not that he would beat GGG, but would be fun to watch. Both him and Lara have huge egos that would make it funny to see them stopped. Both have been dropped by lesser punchers than GGG.

Canelo: "I don't really see any competition for me at 160."

[Butterbean]

Canelo will eat those words, regret he ever spoke them, should he ever face ggg.

[Tanzio]

I wouldn't mind seeing if Lee could land that right hook and what effect it would have on 3G. He probably would not last long enough but Lee is a dangerous mw for any mortal.

[Butterbean]

Of course, but i just dont see any one up to and including 168 that could beat ggg. Froch maybe, but that tuff cookie just keeps surprizing me, and then of course ward. But the way ggg handles his opponenents, id have him as favourite vs ward. 175 is just a bit high imo. Ggg aint no big mw. Same size as pbf more or less. Canelo looks " bigger framed" than ggg imo. But just dont see whos willing to fight him. All risk no reward. Imo he should just start fighting every second month and collect all belts in mw and smw.

[Bobbyptsd]

I'd pick Ward over him, assuming he's still the same fighter he was a year and a half ago.

That's it as far as I can see. Everyone else at 168 and lower I'd pick GGG to beat. And yes, I'd include Floyd.

[ikorolev]

Imo he should just start fighting every second month and collect all belts in mw and smw.

That is extremely hard to accomplish, as other "champions" are all verbally willing to fight him "but not next". He could fight every week and still not get them in the ring with him.

[ikorolev]

Here is yesterday's interview by Loefler:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KcYZZzES6I

He says that Lara is an option if he moves up to 160. For Ward, "economics is not there".

[ikorolev]

For some reason, RJJ thinks that Ward is moving up to fight Kovalev:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUgFDPnOHbs

[jamesmcdonnell]

For some reason, RJJ thinks that Ward is moving up to fight Kovalev:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUgFDPnOHbs

Kathy Duva said in Kovalev-Mohammedi press conference that she has established a relationship with Roc Nation, with both promoters being linked to HBO… and they believe the bout could be made next year.

Don’t ask me where I saw this video though, because I doubt I’ll be able to find it now.

The thing is… until we’ve received confirmation from Andre Ward or Virgil Hunter, we’ll just have to assume that it’s merely speculation at this point in time.

That being said, I do believe the fight will happen at some point, but Andre Ward needs to have defeated a few decent fighters beforehand though.

I don’t think the S.O.G. is ready to risk his unbeaten record against Kovalev after only scoring a single victory over a second-tier fighter like Paul Smith.

I don't think he will need many tune up fights - definitely would be a very impressive win if the beats Korolev at the genuine 175 lb limit.

[ikorolev]

Exactly. I doubt that Ward and Hunter have any desire to take on Kovalev/Stevenson/Beterbiev any time soon.