Nike Jordan Brand deal shows Gennady Golovkin's increased global popularity as in-ring legend grows
LOS ANGELES - Tom Loeffler, the promoter for middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, has one of the easiest - or toughest - jobs in boxing, depending on how you look at it.
In Golovkin, Loeffler is charged with selling one of the most affable, well-liked, trusted and respected men the sport has seen in a while. It's an easy sell.
Golovkin's latest endorsement deal with Nike's Jordan Brand seems like a no-brainer. All Nike needs Golovkin to do, really, is flash his million-dollar smile and repeat his favorite description of his fights, "Big Drama Show," or in this case, "Big Drama Shoe," and wait for the money to pour in.
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"Triple G" is also one of the top pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, an undefeated, unified champion who turns monster in the ring, has knocked out 21 consecutive opponents, and has yet to come close to meeting his match. With 16 consecutive title defenses, he is closing in on Bernard Hopkins' record 20 in a row.
That's the tough part of Loeffler's job: finding quality opponents. Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) is a knockout machine and one of the most avoided fighters. Getting the best fights made for his 34-year-old champion is no easy task.
That is why Golovkin is fighting Dominic Wade on Saturday at the Los Angeles Forum (HBO, 10 p.m. ET) instead of a higher profile fighter such as his mandatory, WBC middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez, or England's WBO champ Billy Joe Saunders, both of whom chose to wait to fight Golovkin.
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That's no knock against Wade. The Marylander and former amateur standoutis 18-0 with 12 KOs, but he is virtually unknown outside of his home state. He took this fight to get his shot on boxing's biggest stage, and who can blame him? He may never get this chance again.
Yet it will be shocking if the fight does not end the way GGG's last 21 have ended, with an opponent lying crumpled on the canvas. Golovkin is an overwhelming favorite to beat Wade, so much so that one Las Vegas casino says a $1,500 bet on GGG would win you $10, according to AP boxing columnist Tim Dahlberg.
Golovkin's ferocity in the ring and baby-faced likeability out of it give him the "it" factor, according to Loeffler, and makes him an easy sell.
"Whether it's for endorsements, or for new fans coming to the sport to watch his fights, he's got that excitement in the ring," Loeffler told Paste BN Sports. "And yet he has that solid character of respect and humbleness outside the ring that boxing fans and sponsors and media gravitate to, because he's got a very unique combination of being so devastating in the ring and yet so likeable outside the ring.
"It's a big statement for Gennady being a blue-chip boxer and a great representative for the sport of boxing, where global brands are looking to him to be the representative for their companies."
Golovkin said he signed with Jordan Brand because "it's best brand because I watched TV, and best players in NBA played with Jordan shoes. And Olympic champions have contract with Jordan Brand."
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A former Olympian from Kazakhstan, now living in L.A. with his family, Golovkin is working hard on his English. And as one who fancies himself a Mexican-style fighter, he's learning a fifth language, Spanish, Loeffler says.
He has done a commercial for Apple Watch, and is a spokesman for the second-largest bank in Kazakhstan. Loeffler says he believes Golovkin now brings in the most sponsorship revenue of any boxer.
"It's amazing time for me," Golovkin said Wednesday before his media workout at Wild Card West boxing gym.
In addition, Loeffler said they flew to Washington D.C. last week to meet with the president of Kazakhstan, "and they named (Golovkin) the official ambassador for the world expo held in Kazakhstan next year.
"And we just signed a deal with Tecate."
Golovkin has been everywhere, it seems. He threw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium on Sunday night and was on "SportsCenter", TMZ and KTLA morning news this week.
Last October after his destruction of David Lemieux at sold-out Madison Square Garden, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones invited Golovkin to AT&T Stadium as his guest. Not surprisingly, that 80,000-seat stadium could host the Golovkin-Canelo mega-fight if and when it comes to fruition.
"He really understands the obligation of not only promoting a fight but promoting an image," Loeffler said. "Los Angeles fans wanted to see him come back to the Forum, where he sold just under 13,000 last year. This year we're looking at a complete sellout at just over 16,000."
For Golovkin, the fun outweighs the obligation.
"I enjoy it," he said. "I feel atmosphere. Great atmosphere. Not like office, not like street. I like this."
And on Saturday night, Golovkin will try to return the love to his growing legion of fans in the best way he knows how.
With consecutive knockout No. 22.
(Top photo of Golovkin by Al Bello/Getty Images)