Dominic Wade says he can stun Gennady Golovkin

Dominic Wade, right, will take on unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin on Saturday night at the Forum.

April 22, 2016 10:36 AM PT

Dominic Wade will collect $500,000 for taking on the challenge few others want, fighting unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin on Saturday night at the Forum.

If you were Wade, that’s a good number to focus on.

Pay no mind to the odds at Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas that have you posted as a 15-1 underdog, with under 6.5 rounds established as a 2-1 favorite for the bout against a man seeing his 22^nd consecutive knockout and 16^th straight World Boxing Assn. title defense.

“Everything’s ready. I’m just ready to get it over with now,” Wade (18-0, 12 knockouts) told reporters this week after arriving from his Maryland home near Washington, D.C.

It wasn’t a statement of surrender. Wade, even though he troublingly failed to make eye contact with the reporters asking him questions, tried to make a case he can upset Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs).

“I’ve been putting in the work for a long time,” said Wade. “[Those around me] know what’s going on. They see my work ethic. I won’t be shocked [about winning] at all. I’ll still remain [unbeaten] and go on. I had a great camp. … We’ll mix it up.

“I don’t think I’m getting the respect, but it’ll come Saturday. It’s going to come.”

Wade, 26, was elevated to the top International Boxing Federation middleweight contender by virtue of his split-decision triumph over former IBF champion Sam Soliman in June 2015. Golovkin added the IBF belt in October, beating David Lemieux by technical knockout at a sold-out Madison Square Garden.

Wade has a 4 1/2-inch reach advantage on Golovkin and said he’s capable of fighting him from a distance and inside, although there’s great danger in the latter.

“I can out-box him … I’m cool. We’ll get in there and adjust and work,” Wade said, expressing confidence in his chin. “I’ve had some fights I’ve had to adjust to, work with, get my mind right mentally.”

The HBO-televised card, featuring unbeaten flyweight champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez’s title defense against Puerto Rico’s McWilliams Arroyo, is expected to draw around 16,000 fans. Tickets are priced $30-$400.

Wade said accepting the fight against Golovkin, something many others have shied from, was done quickly.

“Let’s do it,” he said when asked about the move. “It’s an opportunity I wasn’t scared of. [Others] back up, that’s what they do. I’m going to take my chances.”

He said he embraces the chance to spoil talk of Golovkin’s aim to fight people like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Billy Joe Saunders, Andre Ward or unbeaten super-middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez.

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“The pressure ain’t on me. I’m the one who’s going to stop that,” Wade said. “When his fights come on, I’ve watched them. He’s a good fighter. People can watch me now and see what I do.”

Asked why he agreed to the bout, Wade said, “My heart. I come from a different people, a different family, a different breed. Let’s work, let’s do it, set the date up, let’s rumble.

“The spot[light] is on him now, and then it’ll be on me.”

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