20 little-known facts about Gennady Golovkin

7. Two of Golovkin’s older brothers were killed during military service

In the first episode of HBO’s 24/7 series for Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin, viewers witnessed a rare moment of raw emotion from Golovkin. It came when he was asked about his two older brothers, Vadim and Sergey, who joined the Soviet Army and were killed in 1990 and 1994, respectively. Golovkin, seemingly on the verge of speaking about Vadim and Sergey, went from contemplative to nearly overcome with emotion, understandably opting to not go into details on such a painful subject.

Here’s an excerpt from a piece Chris Mannix, who was reporting for Sports Illustrated at the time, wrote about Golovkin and the circumstances surrounding Vadim and Sergey’s tragic deaths:

"Four years earlier, in 1990, Vadim died, killed in action. There was no explanation from the government official who called the house, no details. The army there didn’t work like that. He was just gone. Golovkin remembers his parents tears. He remembers the empty feeling in his stomach. He remembers a funeral without a body. Serving in the army was dangerous, Golovkin knew that. But he never expected this. The second call, in ’94, was worse. Sergey was gone, too. Back came the tears, back came the wails, back came the sinking, empty feeling, multiplied exponentially. Losing one brother was excruciating. But two? Once again, government officials offered no details. Like Vadim, Sergey was dead. And that was it. For months, the uncertainty of how Sergey and Vadim were killed haunted the household."

Given the affection and respect Gennady Golovkin has for his brother Max, one can only imagine what it must have been like to lose two older siblings, and role models, at such a tender age. Moreover, Vadim and Sergey had pushed Gennady and Max into boxing as children and thus put them on the path to shared success. Here’s what Golovin told Mannix about losing Vadim and Sergey: “It was very tough, very tough,” Golovkin said. “My family, it really tore us up.”

It’s remarkable to consider that Gennady and Max continued to box in the face of such tragedy when it would have been almost too easy to descend into directionless despair and anger. Fans and pundits will never know the true extent of Gennady Golovkin’s feelings about the loss of his older brothers, and that’s precisely the way it should be.