Gennady Golovkin vs Steve Rolls Prediction

Former unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin makes his 2019 and DAZN debut against unknown Steve Rolls on June 8, 2019 at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

First Bout Since Canelo Loss

The bout also marks Golovkin’s first since his loss to Canelo Alvarez last September 2018. The defeat was the first of Golovkin’s impressive career and it snapped a 39-fight unbeaten streak for the Kazakh god of war. Golovkin and Alvarez fought to a controversial draw one year earlier.

From 2008-2017, Golovkin had a streak of 23 consecutive wins via knockout. His overall record is 38-1-1 with 34 knockouts. He stands 5-10 with a reach of 70 inches. Golovkin is also known to have one of the most durable chins in the sport. He’s never been knocked out in 396 amateur fights and over the course of his professional boxing career.

What are the Moneyline Odds?

Golovkin

-10000

Rolls

+1150

Odds from Betonline.ag as of 5/09/19

An Unknown Opponent

Canada’s Steve Rolls is an unknown opponent whose full-time job is being a personal trainer. As an amateur, Rolls was on the 2009 and 2010 Canadian National Boxing teams and competed in the 2009 International Boxing Association (AIBA) Men’s Boxing Championship in Milan, Italy.

Rolls turned professional in 2011 and has posted a record of 19-0 with 10 knockouts. Rolls stands 5-10 with a reach of 72 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. Most of Rolls’ bouts were held in Canada although six out of his last nine bouts were fought in the United States. He has never fought someone in the level of Golovkin or someone near it and it will be interesting to see how he does against top level opposition.

Why Rolls?

Before the Golovkin camp decided to fight Rolls, there were a handful of boxers they considered. Brandon Adams, Hassan N’Dam, Maciej Sulecki and Kamil Szermeta were all considered before Triple G ended up picking Rolls. But Adams, the winner of the 5th season of the Contender Series, opted to fight WBC interim middleweight champion Jermall Charlo in late June for a bigger paycheck.

Sulecki’s promoter said he wasn’t available on that date while Szermata’s promoter said they weren’t interested. Demetrius Andrade, the WBO middleweight champion, is slated to fight his mandatory challenger next. Golovkin then made a pass on N’Dam which left Rolls as the remaining option. When Golovkin was asked about his choice, he pointed out that Rolls was Canadian and with DAZN trying to establish itself in Canada, he picked Rolls although he never heard of him before.

On another note, DAZN is silently brewing a third fight between Canelo Alvarez and Triple G. After Alvarez did his share by beating Danny Jacobs recently, it’s time for Triple G to do his share. DAZN is overly cautious in this one as while Canelo had a real fight in Jacobs, Golovkin has a walk in the park in Steve Rolls. That’s not an overstatement.

Who Wins?

Golovkin enters this bout as a massive boxing betting favorite and Rolls the heavy underdog. Rolls has said that he “will shock the world” but what did you expect him to say? When we talk about skill, Rolls does have good fundamental technique. His skills are good but they aren’t spectacular. He is undefeated but has yet to face anyone in Golovkin’s level or someone even close to that. You have to wonder how he fares against the #6 ranked pound for pound fighter in the planet today.

While some would be quick to say that the element of the unknown presents a clear and present danger for Golovkin, I think that with Triple G’s vast fighting experience-both in the amateurs and in the pros, there is nothing he hasn’t seen yet. So while he hasn’t seen Rolls fight, he has faced someone like him in the past. And unless he’s a Canelo Alvarez, I don’t think an upset is going to happen. Gennady Golovkin beats Steve Rolls.

I’d like to wait until I see the prop bets for this fight because while it is justified, Golovkin’s price is too high, even for a sure winner. When I look at this fight, I have Triple G winning by knockout so if the prop bet on mode of victory is out, I’m going with knockout as my bet. I’m also looking at an early stoppage maybe from rounds 4-6 ( maybe even earlier) so I’m curious at how the round betting looks for this fight. I’d like to make a bet on a knockout happening during the first half of the fight. We’ll keep you posted once we see those prop bets start to pop out.

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