Kazakh powerhouse Gennady Golovkin has warned cocky veteran Oscar de la Hoya that his claim he could beat him in a boxing match at the age of 47 would have fatal consequences, dismissing the “dirty” controversial former champion.
Multiple ex-champion De La Hoya became the latest major name to announce plans to come out of retirement last month, surprisingly claiming that he would beat IBF and IBO middleweight champion Golovkin despite being nine years older than the feared puncher.
Now Golovkin has brutally dismissed De La Hoya’s claim, issuing a deathly warning to his potential rival in a grim assessment of the approach he would take to a scrap between them.
“You know Oscar – you know how dirty his mouth is,” Golovkin fired back when asked by AFP for his opinion on the challenge.
Gennady Golovkin on Oscar De La Hoya saying he’d be an “easy” comeback fight: “You know how dirty his mouth is. Everything involving Golovkin for him is a nightmare. Let me put it this way – If I got an opportunity to legally kill a person in the ring, I might seize it.” [@AFP]
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“Everything involving Gennady Golovkin, for him, is a nightmare. He can say whatever.
“But let me put it this way – If I got an opportunity to legally kill a person in the ring, I might seize it.”
Some supporters questioned whether Golovkin, who is known for his nice guy image outside of the ring, could have been misinterpreted for comments that appeared to be uncharacteristically acrimonious.
“I don’t believe GGG ever said this,” responded one boxing fan. “But I’m 100 percent sure he would go out to seriously hurt De La Hoya.”
De La Hoya has not fought since losing to Manny Pacquiao in 2008 and admitted last year that he had taken cocaine during an orgy with two women since he ended his boxing career.
I don’t believe GGG ever said this. But i’m 100% sure he would go out to seriously hurt De La Hoya.
Depends on how much GGG has in the tank. He hasn’t looked good since the second Canelo fight. Age is catching him. That being said if he can’t beat Oscar at his age he should stop fighting. It would give him another big payday.
As Robotic as Triple G is in the ring, If Oscar could take the punches and move on his bike and use angles, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Easy no…but possible (if he can take a shot). I don’t look at his last fight with Manny as serious. That fight was a scam
“You know how easy ‘GGG’ would be for me?” he asked Boxing Scene, discussing the 38-year-old known for his knockout power.
“Oh, my gosh. I always took a good shot and I always took apart fighters like him. In my mind, it would be that easy.”
Golovkin’s reference to De La Hoya’s trash-talking relates to the build-up the fighter-turned-promoter played in his two huge fights with Canelo Alvarez in 2017 and 2018.
Ahead of his clash with unbeaten Pole Kamil Szeremeta in Florida on Friday, Golovkin did not rule participating in the kind of lucrative novelty fights that have been arranged between former rival Floyd Mayweather and YouTube personalty Logan Paul recently.
“Right now, I’m in my professional boxing career and I don’t see the need for that myself,” he said. “But in future, if there is a demand and an interest, then why not?”
