The WBC has given former unified 160-lb champion Gennady Golovkin a #1 ranking at middleweight in their latest moves following GGG vacating his IBF & WBA belts.
The WBC has given Golovkin a huge gift by placing him at the #1 spot without him having to lift a finger to earn the ranking as normal fighters do.
However, we really don’t know if Golovkin has his heart in the game anymore at this stage of his 17-year professional career. He’s made a massive amount of money and has more than enough to last him the remainder of his lifetime and then some.
If Golovkin is just looking to get the biggest payday possible at 160, he’s in the right spot. The best money fight for Golovkin at 160 is against Jermall Charlo unless one of the welterweights like Errol Spence wants to come up to middleweight to face him.
There’s no chance Canelo Alvarez will fight Golovkin again unless GGG suddenly shows some ambition and beats a big name like Charlo, Caleb Plant, or David Benavidez.
Right now, it’s not likely, given how Golovkin looked in his last two fights and the fact that he’s only fought four times since 2019.
Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs), who will be turning 41 next month on April 8th, is coming off a 12 round unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez last September, chose to give up his IBF & WBA belts after he was ordered recently to face Esquiva Falcao & Erislandy Lara.
Jermall Charlo is the inactive WBC champion, so the logical move would be for the sanctioning body to strip him due to his two years of inactivity and then order Golovkin to battle interim 160-lb champion Carlos Adames for the vacant belt.
Would Golovkin be interested in fighting Adames for the WBC belt? It’s not realistic. If GGG wouldn’t fight Lara or Falcao to keep his IBF & WBA titles, he’s surely not going to risk his neck against an arguably better fighter than those guys in Adames.
That would be a tough fight for Golovkin at this stage in his career, and the only way he’d have a chance of winning is if he fought aggressively like he used to.
Unless the WBC installs Golovkin as the champion, it’s very, very unlikely he’ll agree to fight Charlo or Adames for the belt unless one of the promoters/network offers him crazy money, like $15 million+ payday for a fight against either of those guys.