The man considered the best middleweight on earth did not fight this past Saturday. Gennady Golovkin is looking for a big 2016. The Kazakh is looking to stay busy in 2016, but wants to step up his level of competition to fighters with titles or names that will make fights, events.
This past Saturday, Saul Canelo Alvarez won the WBC version of the middleweight title and is the biggest fight for Golovkin. Without question, this would be the most lucrative bout for Golovkin. It would give him the opportunity to face the current biggest star in the sport in a unification bout of the middleweight titles. Money and legacy would be on the line for both fighters.
Canelo seemed eager in his post fight interview to step in the ring with Golovkin, but before the bout there were talks of the bout having to take place at the catch weight of 155. Canelo has also made it clear that he will be fighting in May and September from here on out, so Golovkin would have to adhere to that schedule making the fight possible, but not likely next.
The next possible match up for Golovkin could be the winner of the Andy Lee-Billy Joe Saunders bout for the WBO middleweight title on December 19, 2015. Saunders in the past has expressed some disinterest in facing Golovkin, as he felt that he wasn’t ready. Lee even last year was penciled in to face until Golovkin’s father passed away canceling the bout in it’s entirety.
Lee it would seem would face Golovkin if he won the bout, but Saunders may be more inclined to keep the title overseas and ignore Golovkin until he feels he’s ready. The Irishman versus Golovkin could be a big event in New York in March during St. Patricks day. If Golovkin can’t get Canelo in the ring, having an event where he has the opportunity to sell out Madison Square Garden again would be the next best step.
Another middleweight unification bout will take place in two weeks at the Barclays Center on December 5th. Peter Quillin and Danny Jacobs will be facing off in a battle of Brooklyn for the interim or junior version of the WBA title that Golovkin already holds. Regardless of the title at stake, Quillin and Jacobs represent a high quality opponent for Golovkin.
The problem here is within the politics of the promoters and networks that the fighters do business with. Interviews with Quillin and Jacobs have shown that they may have a skewed or misplaced view of their current value at middleweight as both described having a dual HBO-Showtime PPV event for them to face Golovkin. Essentially Golovkin would have to be the one to make the move in negotiations and HBO would have to be willing to let Golovkin fight outside of their network for one fight.
K2 Promotions has been willing to put Golovkin in shows off of HBO in the past in order to keep Golovkin busy at the pace of fighting 3 to 4 times a year. To make a fight with Quillin or Jacobs they may need to make the concession of fighting on a different network.
In what could most likely be next for Golovkin, if all else fails is a bout with his IBF title mandatory, Tureano Johnson. Johnson would represent a fun fight, but would be a heavy underdog. Johnson would not represent a step up in opponent for Golovkin and may be a step back compared to former champions Martin Murray and Daniel Geale. The goal for Golovkin is to unify all the titles and to stay busy. Facing your title mandatories is part of the price you pay when being a world champion.
The last two options available for Golovkin would be if he made the move up to 168, which is very unlikely. Much of the negotiating between Andre Ward and Golovkin has been done through the media. Ward has now officially moved up to light heavyweight where he could meet with Sergey Kovalev. If both men continue winning a bout may be available sometime in the future.
Whatever Golovkin does it is important that he does not allow the politics of boxing to slow his momentum. In just three short years since debuting on HBO in September 2012, he has become a draw on the east coast and west coast. He set a ticket selling record for Madison Square Garden on the way to selling it out for his first PPV event. Golovkin needs to keep the pace of fighting three to four times a year to not only keep his name in the public, but also remind people of why they love to watch him so much.
One thing is for sure, the next time Golovkin steps in the ring the boxing world will have his attention.
– Hector Franco / @MrHector_Franco
GGG,, is the best fighter on the planet, fighters are scared to fight him or make excuses just like canelo is going to do!!