Gennady Golovkin vs. Willie Monroe Jr. Official for May 16 in California

C.J. TuttleMar 13, 2015
Gennady Golovkin will attempt to make the 14th consecutive defense of his middleweight title when he faces Willie Monroe Jr. on May 16.

The Kazakh fighter made the announcement through his Twitter account on Friday. The HBO-televised event will take place at the newly renovated Forum in Inglewood, Calif. This will be the second time in three fights that “GGG” has competed in California.



Following his 11th-round stoppage of Andy Murray in Monte Carlo last month, rumors had swirled that Golovkin would be facing Miguel Cotto next, but when it became evident that a fight with Cotto would take some time to come together, Golovkin went with Monroe.

Undefeated in his professional career (32-0), the orthodox fighter has resonated with fans for many reasons, but none are stronger than his finishing rate. Golovkin has ended 19 consecutive bouts before reaching the judges scorecards and 29 of the 32 fights he's been apart of.

A winner of nine-straight bouts, Monroe is no slouch. The New York native recently emerged victorious from the 2014 ESPN Boxcino Tournament, and is currently ranked #2 by the World Boxing Association, #5 by the World Boxing Organization and #9 by the World Boxing Council.