By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Gennadiy Golovkin’s power appears to be one of his obvious advantages over Steve Rolls.

The Kazakh knockout artist has won 85 percent of his pro bouts inside the distance and has one of the best knockout ratios in boxing. The unbeaten Rolls has won only 10 of his 19 professional fights by knockout, but the 35-year-old Canadian contender isn’t overly concerned about Golovkin’s power.

“I’m aware that he’s strong, obviously,” Rolls said before a press conference Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. “But I’ve been in there with cruiserweights that hit hard. I’ve sparred with cruiserweights that knock people out and, you know, was able to handle their power. So, I mean, I understand and I’m aware of his power. But, you know, it’s not concerning to me.”

Lou DiBella, Rolls’ promoter, expects his fighter to be a strong puncher in their 12-round fight Saturday night at Madison Square Garden because they’re competing at a contracted catch weight of 164 pounds. Toronto’s Rolls has displayed more power when fighting above the middleweight limit, most notably when he fought favored Demond Nicholson two years ago.

Rolls and Nicholson boxed at a limit between middleweight and super middleweight in June 2017. Rolls dropped Nicholson in the first round of that fight and won an eight-round split decision.

“They set the weight,” DiBella said, referring to Golovkin’s team. “But I’m gonna be honest with you … I actually was sort of pleased because from what I’ve seen from him, those couple extra pounds, his pop is a little better. When he fought at [super middleweight] against Demond, everyone was like, ‘Demond’s the puncher. Demond’s the puncher.’ [Rolls] had some real pop in that fight. And I said to myself, when I heard that Triple-G wanted the 164, I was thinking to myself, ‘Wow! That’s right in our wheelhouse.’ ”

DiBella also realizes that by adding extra weight that the already powerful Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) should be stronger in this DAZN main event.

“I’m sure Gennadiy will have some more on his punches, too,” DiBella said, “because he doesn’t have to get all the way down to 160 for this fight.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.