Gennady Golovkin is slowly shaping up to be one of the scariest men in boxing. He is counting like flies - 18 consecutive to be exact - the number of men he placed face flat on the floor after each fight. The last one was so devastating and so quick that most boxing observers are ready to anoint him as the boxer chasing the heels of the top of the echelon such as Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

With his latest win over Marco Antonio Rubio in the second round last weekend, he retains his middleweight world title and more importantly, sets him up for bigger things to come in the boxing world. The Kazakh boxer is aware of his knockout prowess as evidenced by how he described how he won the last bout with just a shade of two minutes elapsing in the second round against the Mexican.

View the slideshow as we examine some of the best names out there who could possibly give a challenge to boxing's rising star.

Jul 26, 2014 New York, NY, USA Gennady Golovkin white gloves reacts after knocking out Daniel Geale black gloves during their middleweight championship bout at Madison Square Garden. Golovkin won via third round knockout
It was really affirmed that the Kazakh’s power was too much and proof of this is that he is the only fighter out there and in boxing history to have a 90% knockout percentage. One can put two and two together that his brawn is scaring potential fighters away. The list of fleeing potential opponents grows by the day. There’s Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. who was supposed to fight him in July but backed out. Andre Ward is still recuperating from injury but has not expressed any interest in a Golovkin bout.With Golovkin eager to fight every three months or so, it would be interesting to line-up the possibilities for his hopefully, 19th knockout performance. Here are the prospects: REUTERS
Mar 1, 2014 San Antonio, TX, USA Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. reacts after defeating Bryan Vera not pictured during their vacant WBC continental americas super middleweight title bout at Alamodome.
These two were supposed to rumble it out in July but internal dispute of Chavez’s handlers with Top Rank all but derailed the match. It would have been interesting to pair the Kazakh against one of Mexico’s next generation of boxing stars. During an interview with Boxingscene.com, Chavez was quoted as declaring that he is still willing to fight Golovkin provided Top rank does not require the contract extension which was the origin of the misunderstanding in the first place. REUTERS
Miguel Cotto embraces a friend after winning his WBC middleweight title by defeating Sergio Martinez at Madison Square Garden in New York June 7, 2014. Cotto defeated Martinez in the 9th round
Miguel Cotto is experiencing some sorts of boxing renaissance and essentially retired one of the most decorated Latino fighters in boxing history in Sergio Martinez with his impressive win in Manhattan. With his win over Rubio, Golovkin has already positioned himself as a mandatory fight and all is ironed out for a collision with the Puerto Rican. It also helps that there is some bad blood brewing after Golovkin called out Cotto after his win last summer over Daniel Geale. REUTERS
Jul 12, 2014 Las Vegas, NV, USA Canelo Alvarez is named the victor over Erislandy Lara after a 12-round super welterweight bout at MGM Grand
Golden Boy Oscar dela Hoya was the one who fuelled the fires for a Golovkin-Alvarez match when he pronounced last summer that his ward, Canelo Alvarez is ready to face off with the newest sensation in boxing. While he admitted that “GGG“ is a dangerous fighter, dela Hoya also affirmed that Alvarez was all about conquering dangers. Since then no new development out of the remark has blossomed and the fight with Cotto and Alvarez has been the rage since then. With the knockout artist already affirmed himself as the mandatory challenger after his Rubio win, the winner of the Cotto-Alvarez match has no other choice but to conquer the Kazakh. REUTERS