ONE > THREE
Golovkin focusing on next fight, not trilogy
Gennady “GGG” Golovkin is done with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Done with chasing him for a third fight and done with the frustration of reliving their past two fights.
“I was ready to fight in September,” Golovkin said of a proposed trilogy with Alvarez, the WBC middleweight and WBA super middleweight champion. “It was their decision not to. Let them sort their own things out and make up their own mind. I will move on. ”
Golovkin, the former unified middleweight champion, is moving to a fight with Brooklyn-based Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Oct. 5 at Madison Square Garden. The vacant IBF middleweight title will be at stake, and DAZN will livestream the card.
“What is most important is that this is a championship fight,” Golovkin said in Manhattan on Thursday. “What belt it is isn’t as important. It could be for two belts or three belts. What’s important is that it’s a championship fight.”
Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs) had held some version of the middleweight title since 2010 and tied Bernard Hopkins’ division record of 20 title defenses before losing a majority decision in his rematch with Alvarez last September in Las Vegas. Essentially, Golovkin lost the WBC, WBA and IBO titles by one point on one judge’s card. The controversial decision came after the two fought to a split draw in September 2017.
Since then, both signed lucrative contracts with DAZN, with Golovkin making his debut with a dramatic fourth-round knockout of Canadian Steve Rolls at the Garden last June. A matchup between Golovkin and Alvarez for a third straight September in Las Vegas seemed logical. But an agreement could not be reached, and Alvarez ended any hope last month by announcing he wasn’t fighting in September on the annual Mexican Independence Day holiday.
Since then, Golovkin has signed a promotional partnership deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing.
“Since Gennady signed a deal with DAZN, we had conversations with Gennady and made it clear I’d love to work together,” Hearn said. “He’s got a promotional company, and it’s important for him to develop his fighters not only on his own shows, but also on our shows all around the world as well.”
There no longer seems to be any urgency to fighting Alvarez again, although Golovkin, 37, isn’t getting any younger. There are other credible middleweights under the DAZN/Matchroom Boxing banner, including WBO middleweight champ Demetrius Andrade. A Golovkin rematch with former middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs of Brooklyn is also an option.
As for Alvarez, Hearn told Golovkin: “Don’t worry about what other people are doing. Look after yourself and have a clear strategy and clear plan.”
“He’s the guy in the division that has a clear plan,” Hearn added. “He’s got a date and an opponent, and we know what we’d like to do next.”
The IBF title is one of the belts Golovkin previously held before being stripped of it in June 2018 for not fighting a mandatory defense against Derevyanchenko. Golovkin was searching for an opponent after Alvarez tested positive for a banned substance and had to postpone a rematch scheduled for that May. The IBF wanted Golovkin to fight its No.1-ranked challenger, Derevyanchenko. But Golovkin fought Vanes Martirosyan instead.
Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10 KOs) eventually got his shot at the title when he faced Jacobs, a friend and stablemate, for the vacant IBF championship last October, only to lose by split decision. Jacobs then lost the belt to Alvarez in a unanimous decision this May.
Alvarez subsequently was stripped of the title earlier this month for not making a mandatory defense against Derevyanchenko, who became the No. 1-ranked challenger again by beating Jack Culcay of Germany by decision last April.
A native of Kazakhstan, Golovkin will be making his seventh appearance at the Garden. Tickets go on sale Friday at MSG outlets.
“Fans and subscribers know exactly what they get when Gennady Golovkin boxes — entertainment, value for money, excitement and drama every time,” Hearn said.