Golovkin, Ishida Gear Up In Los Angeles For Monaco Clash

A media lunch for the Los Angeles boxing press was held on Saturday afternoon for WBA/IBO Middleweight Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and contender Nobuhiro Ishida who will clash on Saturday, March 30 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

The Golovkin/Ishida battle will be broadcast live by Integrated Sports Media at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via In Demand, Direct TV, Dish and Avail-TN/$24.95.

Gennady “GGG” Golovkin:

“Thank you all for coming today, this will be a great fight and I’m looking forward to fighting in Monte Carlo, a beautiful part of the world. It’s very good for boxing that this is event is being held there.

“It’s no problem for me to fight from 154 to 168. I agree, my style means that I will never be in a boring fight.

“Ishida is taller than me and that does present different challenges, I saw his fight with Pirog and I know how tough he is.”

Nobuhiro Ishida:

“I have a lot of respect for Gennady and his power and consider him to be one of the best middleweights in the world. I am looking forward to fighting for a world title again.”

Daisuke Okabe, Co-Trainer of Ishida:

“This could be Ishida’s last chance at a world title, he is like a samurai warrior and will do everything possible to win.”

Tom Loeffler, Managing Director of K2 Promotions:

“We have a lot of respect for Ishida for agreeing to fight Gennady while others have avoided him at all costs.”

“Gennady wants to fight all over the world and it’s very important for him to put on exciting fights.

“Ishida beat James Kirkland in a middleweight bout and his last fight was against Pirog, one of the top middleweights in the world. He’s very popular in Japan, Asia and Europe and we’ve had a lot of international interest.

“Our plan is to stay at 160 until a more attractive fight presents itself either at 154 or 168.

“We’ve had very strong support in New York City from boxing fans and the Kazakh Consulate there and look forward to fighting there in the future.

“While we are focused on making Gennady a household name in the United States, he would have no problem facing Sergio Martinez in Argentina.

When asked about the Canelo Alvarez vs. Austin Trout winner, Loeffler stated, “For the winner of Canelo vs. Trout, Gennady would have no problem fighting either at 154.

“There is an excellent chemistry between Gennady and his trainer Abel Sanchez, it’s great to watch in the gym as well as in the ring. Gennady has been very accepting of Abel’s direction.”

Abel Sanchez, Golovkin’s Trainer:

“We’re looking forward to a competitive fight on March 30th from both fighters.”