Golovkin vs Wade: Mismatch won't hurt PPV buys because of GGG-Chocolatito pairing

The mismatch pairing between unified middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin and his next opponent Dominic Wade could see boxing fans lose interest in their upcoming bout, but putting Golovkin and Roman Gonzalez together on the same card could save the Golovkin-Wade fight from potentially low pay-per-view (PPV) buys.

According to a new report, boxing fans may not get to see Golovkin fight a much more formidable opponent than Dominic Wade on Apr. 23, but the prospect of Chocolatito defending his WBC flyweight championship against McWilliams Arroyo as a co-feature fight on the Golovkin-Wade bout could draw viewers in.

While both cards are arguably not thrilling showdowns by themselves, the promotion could still draw success in luring fans to watch the fighters by using Golovkin and Gonzalez as selling points, reports Jeff Aranow of Boxing News 24.

“It almost doesn’t matter who they both fight. The boxing fans are already hooked on both fighters,” Aranow wrote. “That’s why the mismatches won’t likely hurt the ratings too much.”

Wade, an upcoming young boxer, is the No. 3 contender for Golovkin’s IBF middleweight belt. The undefeated Kazakh was supposed to face No. 1 contender Tureano Johnson, but a nagging shoulder injury kept the latter from meeting Golovkin inside the ring.

Meanwhile, Golovkin could have a chance to face a more marketable opponent before he meets Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September. The Kazakh knockout artist was once linked to the likes of Billy Joe Saunders, Daniel Jacobs, and Chris Eubank Jr, but was not able to finalise a deal because the other middleweight champions refused to take a fight with Golovkin, according to K2 Promotions managing director Tom Loeffler.

“Because we couldn’t get another champion to fight, we chose the mandatory,” Loeffler told the Los Angeles Times. “It’ll be a challenge. Wade’s a young, hungry guy who jumped at it as soon as Tureano Johnson was hurt.”