Gennady Golovkin called out WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto following a knockout victory over Marco Antonio Rubio Saturday night, but Cotto isn't the only name fighter Golovkin is willing to face.
Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler said his fighter, who has knocked out 18 straight opponents, is willing to move up or down in weight to land his first big-time opponent. The problem, according to Loeffler, is that Golovkin's dominance has been so thorough that big names believe his talent is too risky compared with his limited public profile.
"Gennady plays chess in the ring," Loeffler said. "We reached out to Cotto after the Geale fight, and we didn't get any interest. You can't negotiate if you don't get a response."
Golovkin has said he'd be willing to fight Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, Peter Quillin or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. In fact, there were serious talks to face Chavez Jr. before promotional issues on Chavez's end derailed the negotiations.
"I think Top Rank offered him $7 million to fight Gennady," Loeffler said. "If you don't accept an offer like that, there's not much we can do from our side to make someone get in the ring with him."
Another opponent that could drum up interest is super middleweight Carl Froch, whom Loeffler said Golovkin would be willing to fight in England.
"If any of those guys would step forward -- Cotto, Canelo or Chavez -- we'd be willing to make a deal. Froch in England would be a great fight. But I got the same response from Froch's promoter when I said Gennady would be willing to come to England and fight at 168. [Promoter] Eddie Hearn said we could make that fight down the road," Loeffler said.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum has recognized Golovkin's growing popularity, especially after seeing him rapidly sell out the Stubhub Center in his California debut. According to Arum, Top Rank's priority is a Cotto vs. Canelo fight with Golovkin having a chance to face the winner.
"That's what we're trying to do. Have Cotto and Canelo fight, and Gennady is right there, probably could fight the winner," Arum said.
That fight is likely not happening until May 2015, and Golovkin rarely has periods of such inactivity. He's expected to fight again in February, with Martin Murray being the likely opponent.
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