Last Saturday, we saw
Gennady Golovkin, known to most as Triple G, destroy mandatory challenger
Dominic Wade within two rounds to retain his IBF and WBA (super) middleweight titles. With
many fans not happy with the level of opposition that Golovkin has had in recent times, the Boxing Guru wants to take
a look at what Golovkin’s options are now going forward.
In recent times, there
have been major issues with the IBF mandatory challengers. This is because the
IBF are so stringent about their mandatories that no-one is able to duck or
manipulate the ranking system unlike with the other governing bodies. This has
pros and cons. The pros are that champions cannot duck their mandatories
however the cons are that fans see lower level fighters challenging the likes
of Golovkin and Brook.
In Golovkin’s pursuit
to become the first unified middleweight champion since Bernard Hopkins he must
take these mandatories or he will be stripped of his belt; he has no other
option so the Wade fight was a fight that Golovkin had to take.
Where does he go from
here? He could move up to the 168 lb division however it is currently a
wasteland with the best fighter being James DeGale who is yet to fully
establish himself and is looking to unify the titles with Badou Jack anyway.
There is no-one else in the division that if Golovkin beat would be considered a break-out fight or improve his
stock so there is little point in moving up just yet.
There are only two real
plausible options. The first is to fight WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders who it
seems is looking for the big-money rematch fight with Chris Eubank Jr. however
with the right offer, in my opinion, Saunders would take the fight.
However the fight that
Golovkin really needs to take is with WBC/lineal champion Canelo Alvarez. Golovkin is
WBC mandatory challenger and Alvarez has been ordered to face his mandatory by
September or face being stripped however the WBC are not as strict as the IBF
with their mandatories so there is every chance Alvarez could avoid Golovkin if
he wanted to. Martinez and Cotto both held the lineal belt hostage from Golovkin and there is every chance that Alvarez is going to do the same considering he is currently only fighting at 155 lb
It seems that Golovkin
must drain himself in order to get Alvarez agree to fight
him. Bernard Hopkins had to do it against Oscar De La Hoya in order to become
the undisputed middleweight champion back in 2004 as De La Hoya was the more
marketable fighter who brought more money to the table which meant the fight took place
on his terms.
Golovkin is in a very similar position to Hopkins in that sense. However unlike Hopkins, he is yet to have that break-out fight that all fight fans want to
see him in and since Alvarez is the PPV star he will have all the bargaining
power if and when he comes to the table. With the super-middleweight division
being such a wasteland this is Golovkin’s only viable option if he wants to
ensure that his name and legacy in the sport last forever.
Tom Eckett
@boxingguru44
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