Press
Release: April 23, 2019 By DAZN – LOS ANGELES (April 23, 2019) -- Boxing's pound-for-pound
superstar attraction GENNADY "GGG" GOLOVKIN and
undefeated Top-10 world-rated contender STEVE ROLLS concluded their coast-to-coast media tour with a Los Angeles press conference today
at The Conga Room at
LA LIVE. Golovkin (38-1-1,
34 KOs), from Karaganda, Kazakhstan,
formally announced to media that he is bringing his Big Drama Show back to the
"Mecca of Boxing" on Saturday, June 8, in a 12-round rumble
with Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs), who hails from Toronto. The fight
will be contested at a maximum weight of 164 lbs. and marks GGG’s
debut on DAZN,
after signing a six-fight global partnership in March.
Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin
“First of all, I want to say
thank you to God for this chance. I am very happy right now. I feel like I am
back. Thank you to DAZN, which is the biggest platform for boxing and for fans.
Thank you to my family and everyone involved. This is exactly what I need. I
respect Steve and his whole team and I appreciate them for taking this fight.
If you can’t make it to Madison Square Garden on June 8, watch on DAZN because
I will bring a show.”
On how he feels to be back in the ring after his network
decision: “I
feel great, like I am 15 years old with a dream. I am hungry. I know what Steve
Rolls feels like right now, with that opportunity. I have that, I want to go
back to that mindset. This is my first fight in this deal and it makes me feel
like a young man again.”
On the past few months: “I think I
learned a lot. We opened a promotional company and as the head of a company and
an active athlete, it was the best decision to come to DAZN for the future. We
are excited to announce a lot of things soon.”
On competing in a higher weight class in the future: “I
feel very comfortable at my weight class now. But would I move up for a big
name or a big fight? Of course.”
On his legacy: “I feel very
comfortable right now. I have six fights with DAZN now and I am excited to face
Steve Rolls. The big fights are important to me and titles don’t matter to me
as much as being in the biggest fights.”
On a third fight with Canelo Alvarez: “Everyone
wants to see that fight. I want that fight, we want that fight. Everyone
understands why it is important that the third fight happens so that we can
have a definitive conclusion.”
Tom Loeffler
“We are very excited about the return of
Gennady Golovkin on June 8. We have to give a lot of credit to Steve Rolls. He
took this fight without hesitation. Steve was part of the Canadian national
team and part of Emanuel Steward’s gym. Emanuel had an eye for talent and when
I heard that Steve was with him, it sold it for me. I knew he belonged here.
Steve and his whole team are consummate professionals. They are professionals
and they are going to fight under the brightest lights at Madison Square
Garden, so they understand how big the moment is. He is Steve Rolls today but
he could be Steve Rolls, the guy who beat Gennady Golovkin.”
“I know
there’re a lot of opinions on who won the two fights with Canelo – we
certainly have our opinion, and that he’s still undefeated and still should be
considered the best middleweight in the world, but we consider him the people’s
champion. This is really the return of the people’s champion. When you have a
fighter who’s undefeated like Steve Rolls, hungry who can take everything that
GGG earned in his career – these are the most dangerous kinds of fights that
GGG can be involved in at this time. Obviously there’s a potential third fight
with Canelo down the road, but if GGG overlooks someone like Steve, it’s one of
those classic situations that could the turn the apple cart.”
“GGG has sold out MSG twice,
The Forum twice. He sold out T-Mobile Arena twice. And he sold out The O2
Arena. He is truly a global ambassador for the sport. In my mind, he is still
best middleweight in the world.”
On whether Canelo and Golovkin need to fight on the
traditional Mexican holiday weekends: “No matter which day
that Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez fight again, it will be a Mexican
holiday. Regardless of the date on the calendar.”
Steve Rolls
“I want to thank GGG
promotions, DiBella and DAZN for this opportunity. I know a lot of you are
unfamiliar with me and there have been questions about GGG’s choice of
opponent. But I worked so hard to get here. I have been in fights that fell
through, fights that haven’t happened for this or that. But I think if I had
some of those opportunities, you would know my name already. This is going to
be a much better fight than people are expecting. I have a lot of respect for
Gennady. But at the end of the day, he is a man. And when you get two men in
the ring, anything can happen. I can’t wait until June 8 and I look forward to
proving it then.”
On what he sees in Golovkin: “GGG
is a tremendous champ. Very strong and aggressive, he can do it all. He can
box, he can jab. He can cut off the ring very well. He is an excellent
fighter.”
On how big this moment is in his life: “This
is just one of those things I am still trying to take in. A lot of thoughts
going through my head but I have to stay composed and focus. I am going to put
everything into this fight. I can’t let all of those thoughts of the future
distract me right now. I just need to prepare and get ready to take on Gennady
Golovkin.”
On Golovkin’s power and how his experience has prepared him
for this moment: “I
have been in there with guys who hit hard. As long as I am 100% physically and
mentally, I will be fine. I have gone rounds with cruiserweights and
heavyweights, been in there with David Lemieux, Andy Lee, Lucian Bute and
Adonis Stevenson. They have helped me prepare for this position and this
opportunity. This will be my first 12-rounder as a professional but that’s only
on paper. I grind in the gym and will have no problem going the distance.”
On what this fight means to him as a Canadian: “When
you think about boxing in Canada, you think about Quebec. Being from Ontario,
we have flown under the radar. But I will show how big boxing is in Canada.
There is talent out there and we don’t get a ton of shine. I am looking forward
to giving them some light and give others the stage to see what Canadian
fighters are capable of.”
Joseph Markowski (EVP, DAZN North
America)
“This is a huge moment for our
business and continued growth here in this market. Boxing is absolutely central
to what we’re trying to do in North America, and to be successful we need the
top names in the sport. We’re lucky and proud to have already brought on the
platform Anthony Joshua, Canelo Alvarez, and with the addition of Gennady
Golovkin, I strongly believe we have the three biggest names in the sport
attached to our platform – committing their futures to us as we grow our
business here in America and around the world with boxing at the core of that.”
“This fight is part of a
tremendous spring and summer schedule for our business here in North America.
We’re about ten days away from the biggest fight with Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel
Jacobs in Las Vegas, May 4 on Cinco De Mayo Weekend, that’s quickly followed by
Anthony Joshua’s debut in the U.S. at MSG, and the following week back at MSG
with GGG and Steve Rolls. We’re tremendously excited about all that. I think
the value we’re bringing to boxing fans and fight fans in the U.S. is
tremendous and unquestionably valuable across our monthly option of $19.99 and
our $99.99 monthly pass – giving fans more than 100 fight nights a year for the
cost of one PPV under the traditional model.”
About DAZN:
Globally, DAZN is a
live and on-demand sports streaming service created by fans, for fans, that is
leading the charge to provide access to sports anytime, anywhere. DAZN
guarantees no long-term contract, no bundles, just one affordable price for
access to all the service's sports on connected devices including smart TVs,
smartphones, tablets, games consoles and PCs. DAZN is currently
available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, Italy and now the
U.S. where it is becoming a must-have service for sports fans, with a daily
show featuring live look-ins to Major League Baseball games beginning
in 2019 and more than 100 fight nights already lined up from
Matchroom Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions, Bellator MMA, the World Boxing Super
Series and Combate Americas.
For more
information, fans can follow DAZN’s U.S. social channels: @DAZNUSA on Facebook, @DAZN_USA for Twitter, and DAZN_USA for Instagram.
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