Gennady Golovkin's DAZN debut has been officially announced and taking place this summer.
The middleweight star and former unified champion will take on unbeaten contender Steve Rolls on June 8 at Madison Square Garden. The fight will headline a DAZN-streamed card and it will be Golovkin's first since signing a multi-year deal to fight on the platform.
Golovkin will be fighting for the first time since losing his unified WBA "Super" and WBC middleweight titles against Canelo Alvarez back in September 2018 on pay-per-view. That fight was a rematch of their 2017 bout, which ended in a controversial draw, allowing Golovkin to keep his unified titles at the time. Since that 2018 rematch, both Golovkin and Alvarez have gone on to sign broadcast deals with DAZN, making the way for a potential third fight down the line.
Alvarez is preparing for a fight against IBF champion Daniel Jacobs on May 4 while Golovkin is looking to get back into title contention with a win against Rolls. Alvarez's DAZN deal is an 11-fight contract while Golovkin's contract calls for six fights in the next three years and hopes one of those fights is against Alvarez.
Rolls, a Canadian boxer who has won all 19 of his pro bouts, is currently ranked No. 9 by the IBF at 160 pounds. Rolls last fought in December when he won a unanimous decision against KeAndre Leatherwood to win the USBA middleweight title. That fight was Rolls' first scheduled 10-round bout and has not won a fight from inside the distance since a third-round stoppage win over Andrik Saralegui in October 2017.
The June 8 card will be the second straight weekend DAZN has a boxing card at Madison Square Garden with the first taking place on June 1. The June 1 card will be headlined by Anthony Joshua vs. Jarrell Miller for the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles.
