By Miguel Rivera
Last week the Championships Committee of the World Boxing Association issued a letter to Gennady Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs), who holds the WBA's middleweight crown, advising him that under the rules of the WBA he must request special permission from the sanctioning body before getting into the ring with IBF welterweight champion Kell “Special K” Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) on September 10 at the O2 Arena in London.
The mandatory challenger for Golovkin’s 160-pound title is WBA 'regular' middleweight champion Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (31-1, 28 KOs), who captured that title since stopping Jarrod Fletcher in 2014.
"The Championships Committee and the Presidency have not agreed to sanction this bout as a title fight because Brook has never fought as a middleweight," said WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza.
"The intent of the organization is to try to protect the integrity and health of the fighters. We do not oppose the fight, per se. But the rules of the organization stipulate that Golovkin and/or his representatives must request special permission in advance to fight Brook. Under the circumstances, if Golovkin were to lose to Kell Brook, the title would become vacant and would not end up in the hands of the British pugilist."
According to WBA President Gilberto Mendoza Jr., Golovkin has made a request for special permission to defend his belt against Brook. Golovkin also holds the IBO/IBF/WBC titles.
"Golovkin has called on the World Championships Committee for approval of the fight as the titleholder. As the champion he has this right of reconsideration and the committee is evaluating it," said Mendoza to ESPN Deportes.
