Golovkin was born in the city of Karaganda in the Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (present-day Kazakhstan) to a Russian coal miner father and an ethnic Korean mother,[8][9][10] who worked as an assistant in a chemical laboratory.

At the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok, he won the gold medal beating future two-time champion Matvey Korobov (RUS) 19–10, Andy Lee (29–9), Lucian Bute (stoppage), Yordanis Despaigne in the semi-finals (29–26) and Oleg Mashkin in the finals.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics he defeated Ahmed Ali Khan from Pakistan 31–10, Egypt's Ramadan Yasser 31–20 and American Andre Dirrell 23–18, before losing to the Russian Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov 18–28 to take the silver medal.

He signed with K2 Promotions and went into training in Big Bear, California, with Abel Sanchez, the veteran trainer behind Hall of Famer Terry Norris and many other top talents.

On 20 July 2012, it was announced that Golovkin would defend his titles against European champion and The Ring's #10-rated middleweight Grzegorz Proksa (28–1, 21 KOs) on 1 September at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York.

[44] It was first reported on 31 January 2013, that a deal was close for Golovkin to defend his world titles against former WBA interim super welterweight champion Nobuhiro Ishida (24–8–2, 9 KO) in Monte Carlo on 30 March.

[46][47][48][Video 1] Golovkin fought British former two-time world title challenger Matthew Macklin (29-4, 20 KOs) at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut on 29 June 2013.

[55] On 18 August 2013, Sports Illustrated announced that Golvokin would next defend with world titles against The Ring's #9-rated middleweight Curtis Stevens (25–3, 18 KO) at the Madison Square Garden Theater in Manhattan, New York, on 2 November.

[56] In front of 4,618, Golovkin successfully retained his titles against Stevens via an eighth-round technical knockout, methodically breaking down the latter with many ferocious punches to the head and body.

The event captured huge interest around the world, with it is broadcast in more than 100 countries worldwide, including Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, Channel 1 in Russia and Polsat TV in Poland.

[66][67][68] A day after defeating Adama, a fight with Irish boxer Andy Lee (31-2, 22 KOs) was being discussed for 26 April, which was the next time Golovkin would appear on HBO at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

[73] K2 Promotions announced Golovkin would fight against The Ring's #2-rated middleweight Daniel Geale (30-2, 16 KOs) at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York on 26 July 2014, live on HBO.

[79] On 12 August 2014, it was rumored that Golovkin would next fight former multiple time world title challenger and then Interim WBC champion Marco Antonio Rubio (59-6-1, 51 KO).

[91] Boxing Insider reported that a deal had been agreed for Golovkin to defend his titles against American Willie Monroe Jr. (19-1, 6 KOs) at The Forum, Inglewood, California on 16 May 2015.

In the end, an agreement was ultimately reached to allow interim bouts before the fight to, in the words of WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, "maximize the interest in their highly anticipated showdown.

[108] On 8 July 2016, it was announced that Golovkin would defend his world middleweight titles against undefeated British IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36–0, 25 KOs).

The Golovkin camp were said to be disappointed with the decision with promoter Tom Loeffler saying, "somehow the WBA thought it was too dangerous for a welterweight to move up to middleweight to fight the biggest puncher in boxing.

[129] On 17 December, terms were finally agreed and it was officially announced that the fight would take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on 18 March 2017, exclusively on HBO PPV.

Golovkin's ring control, constant forward pressure and effective jab lead to a 115–112, 115–112, and 114–113 unanimous decision victory, ending his 23 fight knockout streak which dated back to November 2008.

[157] Oscar De La Hoya later also revealed in an interview with ESPN the fight would take place at the full middleweight limit of 160 pounds with no re-hydration clauses, meaning Golovkin and Álvarez would be able to gain unlimited amount of weight following the weigh in.

[162] On 22 August, IBF president Daryl Peoples announced that they would be dropping the mandatory second day weigh in for unification fights, meaning neither fighters are required to participate, however they would still encourage them to do so.

On 19 September, Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez told ESPN that everyone on their side was interested in the rematch and they would hold discussions with Tom Loeffler in the next coming days.

Prior to the NSAC cancelling the bout, Lance Pugmire of LA Times reported that Golovkin would still fight on 5 May, however it would take place at the StubHub Center in Carson, California on regular HBO.

[229][230] Hours later, De La Hoya confirmed via his Twitter account that terms had been agreed and the fight would indeed take place on 15 September, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

Doug Fischer wrote, "We posed the question to the Ratings Panel, which, in a landslide, voted in favor the magazine's 160-pound championship being up for grabs when the two stars clash at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

[243][244] In January 2019, Oscar De La Hoya instructed Golden Boy president Eric Gomez to start negotiating a deal for a third fight between Golovkin and Álvarez.

In the suit it claimed the Hermann brothers had taken advantage of Golovkin financially, taking higher percentages and 'intentionally failing to account for revenue' from previous fights.

[253] On 16 April, Golovkin announced he would fight 35 year old Canadian boxer Steve Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs) on 8 June 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York at a catchweight of 164 pounds.

[269] On 5 October 2019, Golovkin defeated Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko by unanimous decision for the vacant IBF and IBO middleweight titles at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Golovkin was the aggressor for the majority of the fourth round, having partial success, with Derevyanchenko picking his moments to fire back with two and three punch combinations and continuing to work the body.