I recently had a chance to catch up with Hall of Fame referee, Joe Cortez. Joe is recognized as one of the best referees in the sport and had a career that spanned thirty five years and saw him referee great fights like Oscar De La Hoya vs. Julio Cesar Chavez and Mike Tyson vs. Larry Holmes. In this interview I talk to Joe about rising star Gennady Golovkin’s recent victory and possible future opponents for him. Cortez also spoke about Manny Pacquiao’s upcoming fight with Chris Algieri and the implications that the outcome of that fight have on a possible Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Lastly, Joe Cortez speaks about Bernard Hopkins’ title bout with Sergey Kovalev and Deontay Wilder’s heavyweight match with Bermane Stiverne. Here is what Joe Cortez had to say.

Robert Brown: I want to talk to you about a recent middleweight title fight. Gennady Golovkin walked through Marco Antonio Rubio in just two rounds. What were your thoughts on that fight?

Joe Cortez: Well Golovkin is a very good fighter, he’s a rising star. He’s got all the talent, he can punch, he can box, has good defense. Marco Antonio Rubio is a fighter that has seen his better days. I was surprised that he got stopped so quick and with a punch on the top of the forehead — it was not even on the chin, but that goes to show how hard Golovkin can punch.

Golovkin’s a great puncher and when you eat punches like that, it scrambles your brain inside and you can’t keep your equilibrium, and that’s just what happened with Rubio. Marco Rubio has seen his better days, I think he should start thinking about retiring because there’s no room for him up there at 160lbs, Golovkin will take over everything there.

Robert Brown: Who would you like to see Golovkin fight next?

Joe Cortez: I’d like to see him with Miguel Cotto or with maybe Canelo Alvarez, either one of those two guys would be good for him.

Robert Brown: Do you think either of those fighters would take on ‘GGG’ though?

Joe Cortez: Yeah, Golovkin is one of the toughest fighters out there but he doesn’t have that much name recognition here in the United States. He reminds me of the Klitschko’s. The Klitschko brothers were fighting out here and they come out to fight and nobody really watched over here too much because they were not that popular here.

Golovkin I think is gonna surpass the Klitschko brothers because he comes to fight. This guy is a lot of action, action packed fighter and regardless of where he’s from, he can fight and people know that, they all recognize that. Pretty soon you will see that he’ll be one of the biggest names in boxing in the very near future. Next year that’s all you’re gonna hear all the talk about, Golovkin.

Robert Brown: Is it possible that Golovkin might have to fight at a catch weight or move up to 168?

Joe Cortez: I think if he goes up to 168lbs he can still handle himself but those guys at 168 are a little bit bigger and sometimes what happens with these fighters, they do it so well at the weight they’re at but when they move up in weight they have trouble because the other guys are much stronger at 168 and if he’s not accustomed to fighting at that weight, that can cause him some problems.

I would like to see Golovkin establish himself as a middleweight, there’s so many top fighters out there at 160lbs but I think he will be just fine. I don’t think he’s having any difficulties with his weight, he sure did not have any problem with his weight like Rubio did.

Golovkin takes care of himself, he seems to be very disciplined. If I was him, I would stay at middleweight for another year or so and then maybe move up to 168, but he should clean up everybody at 160 to show the world that he is for real.

Robert Brown: Bernard Hopkins is facing Sergey Kovalev, what are your thoughts on that fight?

Joe Cortez: Well Bernard Hopkins, like they say, he has alien blood. He doesn’t seem to get old, this guy stays in shape. He has the body of a twenty two year old, he’s constantly training and he eats well, he trains well. He’s so disciplined, that’s why he’s able to make it to almost fifty years of age and he’s unstoppable.

I think that his opponent is gonna have some problems with him because I think if Bernard catches him good and solid, he will be going down. I think Hopkins should win a decision without too much of a problem, he’s too smart of a boxer and has great defense.

I gotta favor Bernard in this fight, even though the Russian is a tough fighter, but to me his chin is real questionable. I think if Hopkins catches him right, it may be a very difficult fight for him. I gotta go with Bernard Hopkins, either with a late stoppage or a unanimous decision.

Robert Brown: Manny Pacquiao is facing Chris Algieri coming up. A lot of people think that this is gonna be an easy fight for Pacquiao, what are your thoughts on this fight?

Joe Cortez: I think it will be a very difficult fight for Pacquiao. I think Pacquiao may not get through this kid. This kid is like 5’10 and he has great boxing skills, he has a long jab. He’s gonna keep Pacquiao at a distance, Pacquiao is gonna try to come in and put him away. Pacquiao is gonna have his hands full.

Chris Algieri is not the hardest puncher in the world but he proved when he fought Provodnikov what kind of a style he has. He’s very difficult to hit and stays so very active with a lot of combinations and if he keeps Pacquiao at a distance, he’s gonna box him all night long and he’s gonna win a decision.

If Pacquiao loses to Chris Algieri, it’s gonna be hard for Mayweather and Pacquiao to fight next year because people are not gonna want to buy it. For boxing, I hope Pacquiao wins because I’d like to see him and Mayweather get it on finally but I think Chris Algieri is gonna give him a very difficult fight. It can be an upset.

Robert Brown: So you’re still holding out hope that the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight will happen?

Joe Cortez: Well if Pacquiao gets past Chris Algieri, it will happen next year. I think that Mayweather and Pacquiao, they’re both coming to the end of their careers and they’re probably saying, “Let’s give the fans one last hurrah, lets do the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight in 2015.” But again, like I said, Chris Algieri may be an obstacle that could put a stop to all of this.

Robert Brown: You just spoke of Floyd Mayweather, a lot of people are under the impression that Mayweather is slipping a little bit. What are your thoughts on Mayweather? Do you think he’s slipping a little bit?

Joe Cortez: All fighters reach a certain age that you have to slip a little bit and he may be slipping a little bit but not enough to be in the danger zone. Every time he goes out there he does great, with Maidana the second fight, he fought so much more brilliant than he did the first time.

Mayweather learned from his mistakes from the first time that’s why he gave him a rematch, because he knew what he could do with him and he proved to the world that he could. Maidana could hardly catch him, Mayweather had legs of a twenty two year old that night. He was moving so rapidly with quick reflexes, stayed off the ropes and kept the combinations from the outside and did what he had to do to win.

Mayweather’s gonna be forty real soon, so I think that he slipped a little bit but not enough because the competition at that weight class is not gonna give Mayweather any trouble. If he was to go up to 154, he’s looking for trouble there.

Robert Brown: Based on this current version of Pacquiao and this current version of Mayweather, who wins that fight next year if it happens?

Joe Cortez: That fight is a fight that I see Mayweather winning by decision because Mayweather still has those skills. Pacquiao getting knocked out by Marquez, and he looked okay when he fought Brandon Rios in Macau, China but he’s slipping a lot too. He’s slipping a lot more than Mayweather is, so I gotta go with Mayweather on that one.

Robert Brown: Deontay Wilder will be fighting Bermane Stiverne eventually, who do you fancy in that fight?

Joe Cortez: Deontay Wilder has good height, Stiverne is the WBC heavyweight champion, he’s another hard puncher. That’s a toss up fight to me, either one of those guys can really take that fight, they’re both young, they’re both hungry and they both want to take that title.

When you’re hungry, you really train extra hard because you know the other guy wants to take the title from you. Klitschko can probably beat Deontay Wilder but if Deontay Wilder fights Stiverne, that I think is a toss up fight. Either one can win that fight.