Gennady "GGG" Golovkin is not going to get his wish of fighting WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, who is close to finalizing a fight this fall vs. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. That also takes Alvarez, a large junior middleweight capable of fighting at 160 pounds, out of the picture as well.
WBO champion Andy Lee, and fellow contender Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin are likely out because they fight in Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions stable, which has yet to show a willingness to work with other promotions. IBF champion David Lemieux remains a possibility, but Golden Boy is also considering a mandatory defense first.
With most of the name middleweights out of the picture, Golovkin may want to turn to other divisions. He has been linked to super middleweight Andre Ward, and even light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins, who can make lower weights. Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler seems to be ruling them out for now though.
"Gennady's focus is on unifying the middleweight titles right now," Loeffler said, indicating top priority has shifted to making a fight vs. Lemieux happen. Boxing fans are not likely to complain about that matchup; Lemieux is an entertaining knockout artist with a resume of power not dissimilar to Golovkin's. He has 34 wins, and 31 knockouts, along with two losses which came in 2011. Since then, he's won nine straight fights.
Ward is a more accomplished fighter than Lemieux, but he just came off a 17-month layoff to destroy journeyman Paul Smith on a fight card aired on BET. As Golovkin's popularity has grown, Golovkin and Ward's camps have had many testy back-and-forths through the media about A-sides, marketability, and potential purses. That fight is highly unlikely to happen this year.
Hopkins is an even longer shot. He is 50 years old, and coming off a brutal loss to Sergey Kovalev. He would have to come down to super middleweight at a minimum, and likely more for Golovkin to get in the ring with him. Hopkins used to reign at middleweight, but has not fought at 160 pounds since 2005.
© 2023 Sportsworldnews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
