WITH updates on a potential monster fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin becoming sparse, it looks increasingly likely the pair will not square off this year.
Canelo, who is scheduled to fight on September 17, vacated his WBC middleweight title in order to remove deadlines on negotations for the Golovkin fight.
The fight could still happen next, but let’s not get our hopes up.
That would mean ‘GGG’ needs to look elsewhere, so we’ve devised a list of five men he could face.
5. Danny Jacobs
The American is coming off a career best win – a first round blowout of former world champion Peter Quillin – and his name has been repeatedly linked to the Kazakh’s.
He holds the WBA’s secondary title, while Golovkin holds the legitimate version, and should ‘GGG’ not get Canelo next, the WBA have confirmed they will enforce Jacobs’ mandatory status upon Golovkin.
Well-known in America and heavy-handed, Jacobs is a very viable option for Golovkin.
4. Gilberto Ramirez
Ramirez became Mexico’s first ever world super-middleweight champion in April when he utterly dominated the formidable Arthur Abraham in Las Vegas. The win instantly made him one of the key players at 168lbs, and Golovkin’s team have already expressed an interest in moving up to fight him.
Signed with Top Rank and a regular on HBO, WBO champion Ramirez is a very real possibility for Golovkin. However, ‘GGG’ has made it clear he wants to become the undisputed middleweight champion, and a move to 168 might mean he has to relinquish the titles he’s worked so hard to get.
3. James DeGale
IBF super-middleweight champion DeGale is the 168 division leader, offering Golovkin the chance to call himself No 1 at a second weight class.
Again, as with Ramirez, Golovkin would likely need to part with his world titles in order to fight DeGale, something that doesn’t seem likely at this stage.
2. Chris Eubank Jr
The current British champion has told his promoter, Eddie Hearn, to do anything he can to make a fight with Golovkin.
If it’s pulled off, it would surely be a pay-per-view event in the UK meaning Golovkin would earn a pretty penny for his efforts. In fact, it could be his most lucrative option outside of Canelo. And just imagine Eubank Snr trying to goad the affable Kazakh.
1. Billy Joe Saunders
Unbeaten Saunders holds the thing Golovkin allegedly wants most – the final piece of the middleweight world championship puzzle.
The WBO champion has been sidelined since he won the belt in December, in part due to a hand injury which scuppered his scheduled first defence against Max Bursak. His promoter, Frank Warren, is working on a marquee fight for him this summer, and Golovkin is the desired opponent.
