Anytime Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin steps into the ring, it’s mandatory viewing for even casual sports fans. On Saturday night, he makes his highly anticipated debut on DAZN taking on Steve Rolls. The fight could put Golovkin on a collision course with middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
The questions are plentiful: Has Golovkin recovered from his disappointing loss to Alvarez last September? Is he still a top-notch fighter, even though he’s now 37 years old? Will we see the devastating Golovkin of old? Does that still exist? Maybe Rolls can help us figure out the answers.
Here’s everything you need to know to live stream the GGG vs. Rolls fight on DAZN.
Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin vs. Steve Rolls
- When: 7pm ET on Saturday, June 8
- Where: Madison Square Garden in New York City
- Streaming: DAZN
- Cost: $19.99 per month or $99.99 for one year
What is DAZN?
Golovkin became a star in the U.S. thanks to his numerous fights on HBO. But after HBO hung up its gloves last year, Golovkin became a broadcasting free agent, and all the major boxing outlets—Showtime, DAZN, and ESPN—tried to sign him. Ultimately, DAZN and Golovkin agreed to a $100 million deal. Now, the only legal way to watch him fight Rolls on Saturday is to have a subscription to DAZN.
DAZN costs $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the entire year, but for fight fans, it’s worth it. After all, there’s no place else you could have watched Andy Ruiz Jr. upset former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua with a seventh-round TKO last week.
DAZN has been available in the U.S. since September, and it streams more than 100 fight cards per year. You can watch some of the best fighters in the world (Alvarez, Joshua, and Golovkin) and some of the potential rising stars (Regis Prograis, Devin Haney). By its own admission, DAZN is doing its best to try to kill the longtime boxing PPV model, and it’s found plenty of fans thus far (according to the Los Angeles Times, the Ruiz-Joshua fight was the third-most viewed DAZN fight in its history).
DAZN works with Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and both iOS and Android phones. All you have to do is download the DAZN app and log-in with your subscription credentials. You can also stream via computer browsers Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Internet Explorer, and Opera. (You can read our full DAZN review here.)
GGG vs. Rolls odds
Golovkin is a -3500 favorite, meaning you’d have to beat $3,500 to win a measly $100. Rolls, meanwhile, is a +1200 underdog, which means you’d earn a $1,200 payday if you wager $100 on him to pull the upset.
Golovkin vs. Rolls: Why it matters
Rolls (19-0, 10 knockouts) is undefeated, but he’s never remotely faced an elite opponent. His best win came last December when he beat KeAndrae Leatherwood by unanimous decision. Leatherwood is a journeyman middleweight who’s fought (and lost) to a pair of 160-pound world titlists. But Leatherwood and Golovkin are several talent levels apart, so in reality, nobody really knows if Rolls belongs on this stage.
“I have such a strong belief in myself and I believe I’m going to win,” Rolls said. “I have been preparing my whole life for this opportunity, and it’s an opportunity I’m going to take advantage of on Saturday.”
Rolls said he’s also taken inspiration from Ruiz, who stunned everyone by completely overwhelming Joshua, the heavyweight champion and even heavier betting favorite.
“I was all ready to shock the world, the Ruiz victory made everybody understand that anything could happen,” Rolls said. “I’m up next and ready to do the same thing.”
Most of the eyes, though, will be focused on Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs). He is coming off tough fights with Alvarez—I thought Golovkin won both bouts, but he was given a draw in the first fight and a close loss in the second. Yet, he proved 13 months ago that he can still be devastating when he’s facing a non-elite opponent. Just ask Vanes Martirosyan.
Golovkin, though, is taking Rolls’ challenge seriously.
“I know Rolls can be dangerous because earlier in my career, I used to be Steve Rolls,” Golovkin said. “I was an unknown challenger. It is the unknown fighters who can end up being the most dangerous. Andy Ruiz just showed us that an underdog should not be underestimated. I trained so hard for this fight. Everything is at stake.”
GGG vs. Rolls live stream schedule
- Gennadiy Golovkin vs. Steve Rolls
- li Akhmedov vs. Marcus McDaniel
- Brian Ceballo vs. Bakhtiyar Eyubov
- Charles Conwell vs. Courtney Pennington
- Israil Madimov vs. Norberto Gonzalez
- Nikita Ababiy vs. TBA
- Johnathan Arroyo vs. Jordan Morales
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