Saturday November 2, Bloody Elbow presents live fight coverage of Gennady Golovkin vs. Curtis Stevens, live on HBO. HBO Boxing After Dark Golovkin vs. Stevens airs live this Saturday, November 2 with a fight time of 10:00 p.m. ET / PT. Bloody Elbow will have live fight coverage, including results and discussion, right here.

When Gennady Golovkin vs. Curtis Stevens was first announced, it was not a fight with a tremendous amount of fanfare. Seeing Golovkin in action is always a treat these days, but the jury remains out on just what Stevens will have to offer as an opponent. If the answer is not much, then this becomes little more than a showcase fight with minimal intrigue.

But in recent weeks, two potential storylines have emerged - both of which give Golovkin vs. Stevens something extra. One of those came from Curtis Stevens, one from a more unlikely source.

"I'm going to kill GG." These were the words used by Curtis Stevens to hype the fight on his twitter account in August. Your typical pre-fight hype? In a way, yes. But the use of the word "kill" is notable - at least it was to Gennady Golovkin. A consummate professional, Golovkin views boxing as a sport and himself as an athlete. He is not one of those fighters who view this is a legalized way to beat someone up - it is simply his job, and a job he is very good at. To use this kind of language is unprofessional in the eyes of many, particularly when the threat of death is very real - a fact sadly hit home just recently with the death of boxer Francisco Leal.

And so, for Golovkin, Stevens' comments that he will "kill" the champion are, in Golovkin's own words, "too much." So far, Golovkin, a calm and amiable presence outside of the ring (a sharp contrast to his concussive viciousness inside) has not taken the bait thrown out by Stevens. He has not returned the trash talk, nor has he seemed to get flustered. But that's all outside of the ring. Tonight, the friendly Golovkin is replaced by the boxer Golovkin. And that could be bad news for Curtis Stevens, the man who poked the sleeping bear.

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The other story worth noting was started not by Golovkin or Stevens, but by Gabriel Rosado, the man Golovkin defeated via TKO earlier this year. In the lead-up to Golovkin vs. Stevens, Rosado has raised questions about his fight with Golovkin, specifically regarding the champion's gloves:

"I do believe that his gloves are different than any other fighter that I've fought before. I could tell you that right now. We both fought with Grants, but for whatever reason his Grants were missing a little more cushion on the knuckles. And we had a problem with that, and they said that the gloves were approved [by the New York State Athletic Commission]. " ... When he hit me in the first round, I just felt straight, solid wraps. It wasn't like it was just the impact of the glove. It felt like a little bat hitting the top of my head. So Triple-G's gloves, Grant definitely makes custom gloves for [him]. So Stevens definitely has to look out for that. ... I've never got cut in a fight. Only by a head-butt, which was four years ago. I got cut twice [over] the same eye in the second round [against Golovkin]. [Matthew] Macklin got cut early in their fight as well. It's just kind of suspect about them gloves."

This is a major accusation. Antonio Margarito showed the advantages that loaded gloves can give you, and he also showed the way such a scandal can completely end a career. If there truly was something suspect about Golovkin's gloves the night he cut up Rosado, and if this continues to be an issue, it will be a massive story. For the sake of boxing and the sport's already problematic integrity, let's hope that's not the case.

And so, with some bad blood and (potentially) loaded gloves, what started off as a simple showcase fight suddenly has a lot more on the table to watch for. See how it all unfolds tonight.

Join us here at Bloody Elbow for HBO Boxing After Dark Golovkin vs. Stevens results, discussion, and live fight coverage this Saturday November 2.





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