Boxer Gennady Golovkin looks to make it big in the U.S.

Gennady Golovkin is a rising boxing star from Kazakhstan who hopes to land a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but the undefeated WBA middleweight will have to defend his title against Matthew Macklin on Saturday.

By Lance Pugmire

June 29, 2013 12 AM PT

Think of a boxer from the former Eastern Bloc and the stereotypical images that come to mind are probably of an icy, distant athlete — and those are some reasons why American audiences have been slow to embrace them.

The stoic and dominating Klitschko brothers from Ukraine control boxing’s heavyweight division, but their popularity is so slight in the U.S. that they now fight mostly in Europe.

Enter Gennady Golovkin, 31, the World Boxing Assn. middleweight champion from Kazakhstan who has been a destructive force in the sport as a pro (26-0, 23 knockouts) after a 350-fight, Olympic silver-medalist amateur career.

What differs with Golovkin is his charm, his aggressive bob-and-weave fighting style, his ability to withstand an opponent’s best punch — he has never been knocked down — and his obvious interest in obtaining crossover appeal in the West.

“My style is very good for the American people, for all boxing fans — hard work, heavy punch … I can change styles,” Golovkin said recently, as he concluded preparations for his HBO-televised title defense Saturday against contender Matthew Macklin (29-4, 20 KOs) at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

Golovkin’s training home is at Big Bear under trainer Abel Sanchez.

“When he first came to me three years ago, he and I sat down and watched some tapes of his old fights,” Sanchez said. “I explained to him that in order for him to be exciting to the American public, this [fighting style] is what we have to change.”

So Golovkin altered his stand-up style and converted to more of a brawler after Sanchez showed him videos of legendary Mexican warrior Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

“He’s shown the American public he is what they want to see. First and foremost, they want knockouts,” Sanchez said. “He has the most humble, likable personality — with a killer instinct in the ring.”

Golovkin has knocked out 13 consecutive opponents as he heads into the Macklin bout, including a seventh-round stoppage of a badly bloodied Gabriel Rosado in January in New York and a highlight-reel third-round knockout of Nobuhiro Ishida in Monaco two months later.

“We’re working on him getting to move a little better in the pocket, but he just likes to stay in there and fight,” Sanchez said.

HBO, which has seen a flood of boxers defect to Showtime because of HBO’s strained relationship with Golden Boy Promotions, has made Golovkin its hot, new boxing talent. HBO is promoting the Macklin bout with a documentary about Golovkin and plans to air at least three more of his fights into 2014.

If he beats Macklin, Golovkin may get a title-unification bout against International Boxing Federation middleweight champion Daniel Geale of Australia in November. But Golovkin’s ideal bout in 2014 could be in Los Angeles against former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter, also promotes the Klitschkos. Loeffler said there’s undeniable potential for Golovkin, who has learned to speak English, to pair with his power-punching style and personality in order to draw big audiences, as Manny Pacquiao did.

“Gennady has the type of charisma outside the ring to become a fan favorite, and when you put that together with his fighting style … Gennady, unlike the Klitschkos, has made a commitment to fight here in the U.S.,” Loeffler said.

Golovkin has said he’ll fight any man between 154 and 168 pounds, weight classes that include Floyd Mayweather Jr., Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Andre Ward and WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.

“Fight fans love fighters who give their all and Gennady Golovkin has the style that the large Mexican fan base loves,” said HBO pay-per-view executive Mark Taffet. “He’s performed above expectations and we have a lot of confidence about his future.”

England’s Macklin, who was stopped by Martinez in the 11th round last year, is expected to bring the fight to Golovkin.

“The fact that Macklin will stand right there,” Sanchez said, “it might not be in his best interest, but if he does that, maybe we’ll accomplish what we want.

That would be a 14th consecutive knockout.

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Twitter: @latimespugmire