The world witnessed one of the biggest upsets in boxing history last weekend, when Andy Ruiz Jr. delivered a shocking seventh-round TKO of Anthony Joshua to become the new unified world heavyweight champion.
Now, exactly a week later at the same venue, Steve Rolls looks to follow suit and produce the second consecutive upset at Madison Square Garden, when he faces Gennadiy Golovkin at a catchweight of 164 pounds on Saturday night.
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"GGG" has been out of action for nearly nine months after his majority decision loss — the first defeat of his career — to rival Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in September. The former unified world middleweight champion is hellbent on securing a trilogy fight with Canelo, but the relatively-unknown Rolls could play spoiler to that plan with a huge upset.
The undefeated 35-year-old Canadian boxer was juggling his personal training job in Toronto and boxing career when he got word in April that Golovkin wanted to fight him.
GGG, the former longtime boogeyman of the middleweight division, is by far the toughest caliber of opponent that Rolls has ever faced. That being said, Rolls wants everyone to know that he's coming to MSG to win, not lay down for Golovkin.
"Make no mistake — this isn't a tuneup," Rolls said during the fight's first press conference in New York City back in April. "I'm coming to fight and with everybody just getting to know me now, after June 8, you won't forget me. I got much respect for Gennadiy Golovkin, but I'm coming to shock the world."
Steve Rolls tale of the tape: Record, age, height, bio
- Birth name: Steve Rolls
- Birthday: April 15, 1984
- Age: 35
- Birthplace: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Nationality: Canadian
- Division: Middleweight
- Height: 5'10"
- Reach: 72 inches
- Stance: Orthodox
- Total Fights: 19
- Career record: 19-0
- Wins by knockout: 10
- World titles held (current): None
- World titles held (past): None
- Last fight: Unanimous decision win over KeAndrae Leatherwood on Dec. 15, 2018
- Next fight: Gennadiy Golovkin on June 8, 2019
Notable career highlights
Dazzling amateur pedigree
Steve Rolls is relatively unknown in America, but one can't say the same about the boxer in his native Canada. There, Rolls was on the 2009 and 2010 Canadian National Boxing Team, losing to bronze medalist Vijender Singh (currently signed with Top Rank) in the 2008 Olympics before that. He was even invited to the famous Kronk Gym in Detroit by Emanuel Steward, before the legendary trainer's passing, according to Rolls' promoter Lou DiBella.
Rolls is battle-tested
Rolls has never faced competition quite like GGG, but that doesn't mean he hasn't shown mettle throughout his boxing career. Rolls handled KeAndrae Leatherwood effectively en route to a unanimous decision victory in his Toronto hometown in December. Before that, in June 2017, Rolls pulled off an upset over Demond Nicholson, who was 17-1-1 at the time, by split-decision on Showtime's "ShoBox: The New Generation" series.
