20 little-known facts about Gennady Golovkin
3. Golovkin has secured some major sponsorship
Gennady Golovkin has secured impressive sponsorship deals despite not being a bankable Pay-Per-View star. Indeed, Golovkin’s athletic abilities are beyond reproach, and that has been most prominently reflected in his associate with Nike’s Jordan Brand. In fact, Golovkin is one of only three boxers to have ever been deemed worthy enough to join Jordan Brand, with the other two being current unified light heavyweight champion Andre Ward and the incomparable Roy Jones Jr.
Jones, of course, embodied Jordan Brand by both being the most transcendently gifted fighter of his generation and through his compelling personality. Ward, although hardly as popular or as flashy as Jones, has been a standard-bearer for American boxing brilliance for over a decade and has a fanatical, Jordan-like work ethic. Golovkin, on the other hand, was an intriguing departure for Jordan Brand given that he’s from Kazakhstan. Jones and Ward are quintessentially American thanks to their Olympic pedigrees and pound-for-pound credentials – not to mention them representing opposite extremes of in-ring effectiveness. Golovkin is something else entirely.
Golovkin’s deal with Apple and his appearance in the above commercial for their watch is fascinating in that he’s being used to promote something that has become an iconic lifestyle brand (beyond merely standing for technological innovation and excellence). Boxers rarely, if ever, cross over into this realm of mainstream branding. And according to Forbes, Golovkin also has deals with Samsung and the beer Tecate.
Forbes has also ranked Gennady Golovkin as high as second on their Top-10 Pound-for-Pound Moneymakers in boxing – behind Canelo Alvarez. If Golovkin goes on to defeat Canelo, his marketability could traverse into an entirely new realm that might extend far beyond what will be a guaranteed career-high fight purse. Apple Watch could end up being the starting point for a truly global vision of Golovkin.