Monday morning quarterbacking, perhaps, but former unified middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin said he was not all that surprised that unheralded Andy Ruiz Jr. defeated Anthony Joshua last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Ruiz authored one of boxing's greatest upsets when he knocked Joshua down four times and stopped him in the seventh round to take his three heavyweight titles in a shocker.
"If you look at it partially, Joshua was terrible, Ruiz was great," Golovkin said Wednesday at Madison Square Garden during the final prefight news conference before his upcoming bout with Steve Rolls. "You can look at various elements. It will probably be a big lesson, an important lesson for Joshua to learn. And also, I know Andy Ruiz. I'm not surprised of the outcome of that fight."
Golovkin will be looking to avoid the same fate as Joshua when he returns from a nine-month layoff to face a similarly significant underdog in Rolls in a 12-round bout contracted at 164 pounds on Saturday (DAZN, 9 p.m. ET) at the Garden, the first time in decades its main arena will host a major boxing card in back-to-back weeks.
Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs), 37, a Kazakhstan native fighting out of Santa Monica, California, is hoping to get past Rolls and set up a third fight with rival Canelo Alvarez, against whom he has a disputed draw and debatable majority-decision loss.
Alvarez notched a close win over Golovkin in September to take his unified middleweight titles and end his division record-tying run of 20 consecutive defenses.
"I had a long break, but I feel right now I'm still smart, and am coming back more strong," said Golovkin, who will kick off a six-fight, three-year, nine-figure deal with DAZN against Rolls. "Of course, Steve Rolls, my opponent -- he's an undefeated guy. This is serious business, very dangerous sport. I believe he's ready for Saturday night. This is real life, real fight.
"I'm very cautious and very respectful of my opponent. I understand his situation. I always think of my opponent as a professional. It's very serious so I really understand it's a dangerous situation, and I'm conscious of that."
Golovkin will enter the bout with a new trainer in Johnathon Banks, whom he hired after splitting with longtime trainer Abel Sanchez in what Sanchez said was over a dispute about his pay.
"I think it's going to be a very interesting matchup, because with Steve Rolls, he's fighting for his chance to a new life," Banks said. "And that never should be overlooked. It's the same thing I said two weeks ago about Andy Ruiz, when I was asked about that. I said I just hope Joshua is focused and ready to go because Andy Ruiz is fighting for his life. When you have a guy who has nothing to lose and everything to gain, that becomes the most dangerous man you've ever faced. And that's Steve Rolls.
"There's nothing about Rolls that's being overlooked, there's nothing about him that's being underestimated. GGG and I do plan on being successful on Saturday night. The fact that we're not overlooking him, that's not going to change our plan to be successful on Saturday night."
Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs), 35, of Toronto, said he has planned for an upset since the fight was made but is taking inspiration from Ruiz's accomplishment.
"Even before I saw [Joshua-Ruiz] I had every plan of coming here to pull an upset. I know exactly what I'm capable of," Rolls said. "I understand when you get two guys in the ring, anything can happen. When you count anyone out, I just don't get that. Anything's possible when you get in a ring with another man.
"I've always been very motivated and I've always seen myself mentally getting to this level. I've wanted all these fights. I wanted name guys, so for me to finally get this opportunity, it means everything. It's what I've worked hard for my whole life."
Lou DiBella, Rolls' promoter, has been trying to get Rolls a major fight for quite some time and believes that, as Ruiz did, Rolls can pull the upset and change his life.
"Andy Ruiz -- his [future] grandkids are set for life, off of one night. That's the drama of boxing, that's the theater of boxing, that's what makes this sport so different than anything else," DiBella said. "There's no sport more unforgiving than boxing. No sport where you can change the fortune of your children -- Steve just had his first child -- and your grandchildren in one night. I'm thrilled to see what happens on Saturday night. I'm thrilled as his friend and his promoter, but I'm also thrilled as a fan. This is going to be a real fight. This is going to be fun.
"Most people have written Steve off, but I tend to think Gennady hasn't written him off. I'm sort of giddy that he got this opportunity because I think he's going to rise to this occasion. I just think he has everything to gain and so little pressure on him. He has nothing to lose. He can just go in there and be Steve Rolls, and I think Steve is good enough to compete."
For good measure, DiBella is showing his superstitious side going into the fight. On Wednesday, as the fight-night logistics were being worked out, DiBella secured the same dressing room at the Garden for Rolls that Ruiz used last week.
"Obviously, the dressing room Andy Ruiz used for the fight with Joshua didn't hurt him," DiBella said. "Plus, I figured maybe there would be some good mojo in there."