20 little-known facts about Gennady Golovkin

9. Three of Golovkin’s bouts have been previously featured on Pay-Per-View

After making his American debut in 2012, Gennady Golovkin became a staple on HBO and the network’s most popular non-Pay-Per-View fighter. Thanks to his thrilling fighting style and elite skills, Golovkin brought raucous crowds to venues ranging from The Forum in Inglewood, California, to the StubHub Center in Carson, California, and to Madison Square Garden’s Theatre. Eventually Golovkin graduated to the big room at The Garden as his fight weeks became marquee events.

And yet, there remained a disconnect between Golovkin’s obvious popularity and his viability as a Pay-Per-View star. The ability to cross over into the consciousness of mainstream sports fans is rare for a boxer. Floyd Mayweather Jr. likely draws more viewers to his fight who hope to see him get knocked out than actually watch him triumph; Canelo Alvarez has the backing of boxing’s most important fanbase. It’s fickle business.

Here’s how Gennady Golovkin’s three Pay-Per-View bouts have performed at the box office: Golovkin vs. Lemieux — 150,00 buys; Golovkin vs. Brook — 500,000 buys; Golovkin vs. Jacobs — 170,000 buys. While these are hardly impressive numbers by Mayweather standards, it’s worth noting that Golovkin improved his stateside Pay-Per-View numbers from the Lemieux to Jacobs fights, albeit modestly; on the other hand, when matched with a more marquee foe in Kell Brook, Golovkin produced a robust half million buys on Sky Box Office (thanks in very large part to Brook, naturally).

Gennady Golovkin will obviously set a personal Pay-Per-View record against Canelo Alvarez. The number figures to be well over a million, and rightfully so. When Golovkin first fought on Pay-Per-View it made sense from the standpoint that he had clearly graduated to that level as a fighter. But like any major star, Golovkin needed a truly worthy and recognizable opponent. Now, he finally has both.