The No. 7 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, returns to the ring for the first time since his first career loss to Canelo Alvarez last September as he looks to get back on track against Steve Rolls at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Golovkin is a huge -3500 favorite with Rolls coming back at +1200, but could we be in store for another stunning upset at MSG?
Odds Analysis
These are the largest odds GGG has had in his boxing career since he fought Dominic Wade in 2016 when he closed as a -10000 favorite in a bout that ended in a second-round knockout. Rolls lays his perfect 19-0 record on the line with his Madison Square Garden debut and looks to hand GGG a second straight loss.
How Will This Fight Play Out
Golovkin (-3500) is looking to pick up his first win since May of last year when he dismantled Vanes Martirosyan with a second-round knockout. GGG followed that dominant victory up with a majority-decision loss to Canelo Alvarez, the first loss on his professional record.
Golovkin is an aggressive fighter who goes right at his opponents and has extreme power in his hands, which is evident in his 38-1-1 record with 34 wins coming by knockout. He has really good movements that allow him to set up opportunities to let his hands fly and when he gets those openings, he has fantastic precision and rarely misses.
Rolls (+1200) aims to remain undefeated as he puts his 19-0 record on the line. The last time he was in action, he won the vacant USBA middleweight title with a unanimous-decision victory over KeAndrae Leatherwood. This is the first 12-round bout that Rolls has had in his career and this is definitely a step up in competition.
The Canadian is a patient fighter and has really good accuracy on his strikes, landing them seemingly at will at points. He can sometimes be a little slow to react to punches coming back but he keeps his guard high, avoiding major power. Rolls uses his long left jab to keep his opponents at bay and when he figures out his range, he typically likes to push the pace but lacks true knockout power, with only 10 of his 19 wins ending in that manner.
As mentioned above, Rolls does sometimes seem to have a bit of a delay reacting to forward pressure from his opponents and does his best work at fighting long and keeping his foes at a distance before going on the attack. Well, that will be a tough approach against such a forward-marching fighter as Golovkin, who has tremendous speed, power and accuracy in his punches. A GGG win likely sets the table for the trilogy fight with Canelo.
Prediction: Gennady Golovkin (-3500) via knockout (-600) in Rounds 1-3 (+175)
| Boxer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Gennady Golovkin | -3500 |
| Steve Rolls | +1200 |
Odds as of June 7 at Sportsbook
