By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Gennadiy Golovkin mocked what Oscar De La Hoya Tweeted to him Saturday night, right after Golovkin’s fourth-round knockout of Steve Rolls.

De La Hoya instructed Golovkin to “win a belt” to entice Canelo Alvarez’s promoter consider making their third fight. “The Golden Boy” also taunted Golovkin by adding the hashtag “Caneloisyourboss” to his Tweet.

Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promotional representative, called De La Hoya’s message “posturing.” Negotiations are expected to begin soon for a third Alvarez-Golovkin fight to take place September 14, the date on which the IBF/WBA/WBC middleweight champion is scheduled to return to the ring.

“Nice comeback win,” De La Hoya wrote. “Now fight a real fighter, win a belt, and I’ll consider doing the 3rd fight. #Caneloisyourboss.”

John Skipper, DAZN’s executive chairman, is expected to insist that Alvarez-Golovkin III happens next because the emerging streaming service has committed to nine-figure contracts for both boxers and needs their third bout to happen to boost subscriptions.

Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KOs) edged Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs) by majority decision in their middleweight championship rematch September 15 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Their first fight resulted in a dubious draw in September 2017, also at T-Mobile Arena.

De La Hoya basically told Golovkin on Saturday night to fight the winner of the June 29 bout between WBO champion Demetrius Andrade (27-0, 17 KOs) and Maciej Sulecki (28-1, 11 KOs) in Providence, Rhode Island. Andrade holds the only middleweight title Alvarez doesn’t own.

An incredulous Golovkin scoffed at what De La Hoya Tweeted.

“He talks so much,” Golovkin said during the post-fight press conference at Madison Square Garden. “He back-talks. I’m not thinking about what Oscar said. I’m not really interested in what Oscar is doing, what Oscar is saying. I’m not really interested in that at all.”

When asked if he would reply to Alvarez’s promoter, Golovkin said, “I don’t really like following men. I’m not about following men at all.”

Then Golovkin joked about how he should respond.

“What do you think I should write him back?,” Golovkin asked. “What’s your opinion? He looks good? You’re a smart guy? What do you think? Come on, he doesn’t know me. Forget it. Come on, guys. This is hype. Come on. Forget it.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.