Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, the WBA and IBO middleweight champion of the world, is the number one contender for Miguel Cotto's WBC middleweight title. Cotto hasn't shown much interest in fighting Golovkin though, and the WBC isn't forcing him to just yet.
According to reports, Cotto is allowed a voluntary defense of his belt before he has to take on his mandatory. That voluntary defense is expected to be against Canelo Alvarez, whom Top Rank CEO Bob Arum has been trying to get Cotto in the ring with since the summer.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said the winner of Cotto's voluntary defense will then have to take on Golovkin, who is making his own voluntary defense in February against an opponent to be determined. Golovkin knocked out Marco Antonio Rubio in less than two rounds Saturday night in his California debut.
While Golovkin is among the fastest-rising stars in the sport, Alvarez is a bona fide pay-per-view attraction, as is Cotto. Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Alvarez, has compared an Alvarez-Cotto matchup to his high-profile 1999 clash with Felix "Tito" Trinidad.
After Cotto defeated Sergio Martinez in June to take the WBC middleweight crown, De La Hoya addressed a potential matchup with Alvarez. "July 12 is very important toward possibly seeing the pugilistic rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico once again. It would be Salvador [Sanchez] vs. [Wilfredo] Gomez, [Julio Cesar] Chavez Sr. vs [Edwin] Rosario, De la Hoya vs. [Felix] Trinidad. Huge!"
De La Hoya has also said he has "no doubt" that Alvarez would challenge Golovkin at some point in the future, but if Cotto vs. Canelo is made the future might arrive sooner than expected. ESPN's Dan Rafael tweeted De La Hoya's words about a Golovkin matchup-- "I have no doubt that Canelo will fight GGG."
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