By Mike Coppinger

Daniel Geale makes his HBO debut Saturday when he defends his IBF middleweight title against Darren Barker. Geale is the favorite and should he come out of the bout with the victory, he wants Gennady Golovkin next.

“I believe that fight will take place, I’m not sure when, but there has been a bit of talk about it and if everything goes right, I’ll be happy with that,” Geale said. “But first thing’s fight, I gotta take care of Darren Barker and we know that one will be tough.”

Geale is hoping the U.S. television exposure will increase his profile; he wants to showcase his skills against Barker, who challenged Sergio Martinez for the championship in 2011.

“It’s a huge fight. It’s the fight that I’ve wanted; it’s against a very credible opponent as well," Geale said. "There were other options on the board where we probably could have taken an easier fight, an easier opponent, but I was very confident in fighting Darren. We believe it’s going to be the fight that people want to see. It’s an exciting fight, he’s got great skills and it’s going to do a lot for my career.”

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