Will we get another upset in back-to-back weekends like the Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua’s fight last Saturday at Madison Square Garden? Well we will have an opportunity to see a good matchup between two boxers, Steve Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs) who is not well-known and Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 34 KOs) who wants to move on quickly as he desires another fight with the only boxer who was able to beat him.
Will it be somewhat like Ruiz-Joshua fight? The answer is no. However a win for either boxer will be signficant. For Rolls, it puts him on the map. The Canadian born boxer has yet to fight anyone on GGG’s level so a win here will boost his career and promoters will be calling. If he loses, then we will think he’s just not ready for the top dogs yet.
“When I got the call from my manager, I was out on a late-night run. He asked me if I wanted to fight GGG and it was an immediate yes for me. I have been working so hard for an opportunity like this,” Rolls said.
For GGG, it will possibly help him get closer to a Alvarez rematch. If he loses, he needs to focus on maintaining his boxing career. Despite the mismatch, Golovkin refuses to go out like Joshua and will take on Rolls as if he was the current champ.
“This is boxing. Everything is possible,” Golovkin said, “I respect Steve. I understand he’s a professional athlete and a professional boxer. This is not a game for me and him. I’m very cautious and very respectful of my opponent.”
Rolls, being the underdog in tonight’s fight, may not have the same doubts after last weeks upset but comparing this fight to Ruiz-Joshua is a big jump. Rolls and Ruiz Jr. are both the underdogs but not on the same parallel. For instance, Ruiz Jr. is a heavyweight who knocked out Alexander Dimitrenko, who is just as big as Joshua, on April 20 and went the distance with Joseph Parker in 2016 but lost. That’s the same boxer Joshua had to go 12 rounds with as well and it was the first time in his career. Again, Rolls is about to have his 20th fight against GGG who faced boxers like Alvarez. Rolls will get credit for 10 knockouts in his 19 fights but 13 of those were in Canada and his best opponent was Demond Nicholson back in 2017.
I must also put out there that this is Rolls’ first 12 round matchup.
“There are a few things that I plan on doing, a couple of game plans we have,” Rolls said, “But, at the end of the day, I have the ability to adapt in there, you need that ability in fighting a guy like GGG. We see some things that I have the advantage in so we will see if it is available on fight night.”
Even though Rolls has the long arms and talented at changing levels with his punches, he doesn’t have enough experience to overcome a boxer like Golovkin who is going for a knockout. I expect the fight to be over sixth round but we shouldn’t overlook any boxer that has nothing to lose. Or a boxer we really don’t know.
Get to know Rolls and watch Golovkin’s new training on the next page and don’t forget to watch the fight on DAZN starting at 9 p.m. EST.