Gennady “GGG” Golovkin has his eyes on Miguel Cotto’s WBC middleweight belt after knocking out his 19th straight opponent, Martin Murray, on Saturday.
“Cotto has no opponent for his next fight,” Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez said after the Murray win. “New York would be great this summer for a showdown for the WBC belt (held by Cotto) and to see who is the best middleweight in the world.”
Miguel Cotto defeated Sergio Martinez for the WBC crown last summer, but hasn’t fought since. He had been in talks with Canelo Alvarez for a May 2 clash, but the negotiations stalled and Alvarez eventually walked away and scheduled a May 9 bout vs. James Kirkland.
Cotto’s team hasn’t shown much enthusiasm about fighting Golovkin, but there’s another big name that may take him on if Cotto falls through. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., a super middleweight, talked tough on Twitter when it came to discussing GGG.
Without his power he's not that good of a boxer, I'll bet you GGG a million dollar of the purse that I'll knock you out if we fight ..
— Julio Cesar Chavez (@jcchavezjr1) February 22, 2015
Come to my weight class @GGGBoxing — Julio Cesar Chavez (@jcchavezjr1) February 22, 2015
Currently, Golovkin’s mission is to unify the belts at 160 pounds, which is why he is so hungry for a matchup against Cotto. He is also trying to translate his exciting “Mexican style” into major pay-per-view dollars. To do that, he needs a high-profile fight that, because of his Terminator-like run through all his opponents, has been difficult to land.
Chavez Jr. isn’t a middleweight, and doesn’t have a lofty belt. He does have a tremendous following and big-time exposure. Golovkin’s manager Tom Loeffler said he’d welcome a fight with Chavez Jr.
“Yes, great Tweet from him. It would actually be better if he agreed to fight instead of Tweet. If he beats (his next scheduled foe Andrzej) Fonfara, it would be a great fight with big ticket sales and a big drama show. GGG is ready for June!” Loeffler said.
[Ring]
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
