Now that Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin has gotten the mandatory defense of his IBF middleweight title out of the way against Kamil Szeremeta, he has a potential fight in the works against Jaime Munguia in the sprint.
Golden Boy Promotions is reportedly interested in making the fight between Munguia and Golovkin. Munguia is also on board with fighting the Kazakhstan fighter, as he feels that he’s ready to take him on.
If Munguia is going to take the fight with GGG, he’s got to do it now before he retires.
According to Mike Coppinger, former WBO 154-lb champion Munguia (36-0, 29 KOs) would be facing GGG on DAZN.
If Golovkin can’t get the fight with Canelo Alvarez for next May in their long-awaited trilogy match on Cinco de Mayo, Munguia will be GGG’s likely foe.
If Golovkin doesn’t get the fight with Canelo or Munguia, he could face WBA ‘regular’ middleweight champion Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs).
That’s a match that Golovkin and his management have been targeting for a couple of years now. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist Murata might be even more of a problem for Golovkin than Munguia, but it’s difficult to know for certain.
Murata, 34, hasn’t fought a year since stopping challenger Steven Butler in the fifth round on December 23, 2019.
Golovkin, 38, was supposed to face Munguia two years ago, but the match wasn’t approved by the Commission. So he ended up facing Vanes Martirosyan, who he wiped out in two rounds in May 2018.
Back then, Munguia was 22-years-old, and he didn’t have the experience to take on Golovkin, but a lot has changed. Munguia captured the WBO 154-lb belt in May 2018 and made five successful defenses before vacating the title.
Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) looked great in stopping Szeremeta (21-1, 5 KOs) in a seventh-round stoppage on December 18th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood.
Florida. GGG knocked Szeremeta down four times in the fight, dropping him in round one, two, four, and seven.
Golovkin’s contract with DAZN will be finishing up soon, and it’s unclear whether he’ll continue with his career or retire. He wanted to face Canelo one more time, but the Mexican star has shown the interest to get back in there with him.
In a perfect world, Canelo will agree to face Golovkin in the trilogy match on Cinco de Mayo in May 2021, and the fans can finally get a chance to see the fight they’ve been waiting on for the last three years.
Canelo, however, wants to unify the 168-lb division, and he’s looking at facing WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders or IBF belt-holder Caleb Plant.
Golovkin is one of the three opponents in the running for Canelo’s May fight.
Still, considering the Mexican star’s recent comments about him wanting to unify the 168lb division first before looking at other fights, it’s not likely we’ll see him face GGG.