The 33 year-old steps in where most fear to tread this Saturday night at Madison Square Garden and stated this week that he wouldn’t have it any other way as he aims to regain his position at the top of the 160lb division.
“I would like to say that I am really excited to be fighting on such a big show at Madison Square Garden. It is going to be a perfect step for me, fighting a guy like Gennady, who is one of the hottest names in boxing today,” said Geale.
“I’ve been saying for years in Australia – I will fight the best fighters and this is the only way to do it. To do it like this, in Madison Square Garden, with my team and Gary Shaw, I couldn’t be happier.
“To be honest, Gennady has got titles and I want titles. That’s my main goal here. I want to fight the best fighters and I want to win some titles and there is only one way to do that, whether he has a great record or not. You have to get in there and test yourself against the best fighters in the world.
“I have been in big fights before. On big occasions and have had a big crowd against me in those situations as well. Those experiences will serve me well in this fight. Being the underdog as well is something that I am used to.”
Geale and Golovkin have met before when ‘The Real Deal’ was just 20 years old and three years off his pro debut, with his Kazakhstan opponent dropping him on the way to a decisive win.
“The fight was in 2001, but I don’t remember a lot about the fight,” he recalled. “I kind of believe I got put down in that fight, but that was a long time ago and now we both believe we are better fighters these days and that’s why it’s going to be a good fight now.
To be honest, Gennady is the type of guy, he’s got a powerful punch and everyone knows about his skills to back that up. You can’t be one-dimensional in any way because he will find a hole.
“To me, that is good because I have to improve and I have to step up and fight at my best. Normally when I do fight great fighters, I step up and fight better as well. In this case I am going to make that happen.
“Mentally I have been preparing for the toughest fight of my life. It’s going to be a tough fight against a very tough fighter. I put in a very difficult training camp. I feel since the Macklin fight fell through – things were looking great then, and now they have stepped up again.
“I have been confident throughout and I have been wanting to fight Gennady for a while. I believe that things happen for a reason and we are very excited about that,” added Geale.
Boxing’s fastest rising star, WBA/IBO Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN will defend his titles against two-time world champion DANIEL “The Real Deale” GEALE on Saturday, July 26 at Madison Square Garden and LIVE on HBO World Championship Boxing ® beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.
Tickets priced at $500, $300, $200, $100, $50 and $25 are available at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com and www.thegarden.com
Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay for tweets of upcoming news on WBN
