By Carlos Boogs
Frank Warren, who promotes WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (23-0, 12KOs), is very willing to negotiate a deal for a unification with WBA/WBC/IBF/IBO champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (36-0, 33KOs).
Golovkin made his UK debut on September 10th, traveling over to London to score a fifth round stoppage victory over IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook at the O2 Arena.
After the fight, Golovkin did several post-fight interviews where he called for a unification with Saunders. Golovkin's main goal is to unify the entire middleweight division and the unbeaten Brit holds the last belt standing.
Before those negotiations can seriously take place, Saunders wants to get a fight under his belt. He's been inactive since capturing the title last December with a career defining win over Andy Lee.
Since that victory, there have been injuries, fights falling through and other issues beyond Saunders' control. As of last week, Saunders was scheduled to defend his title on October 29th as part of the Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko II undercard in Manchester. But this past Friday, Fury withdrew from the fight citing a medical condition - which leaves Saunders' ring return up in the air.
Golovkin is already scheduled to fight on December 10th, with negotiations currently ongoing for a WBA mandatory defense against Daniel Jacobs. The sanctioning body ordered them to face each other and they have until October 10th to get a deal done or go to purse bids.
Warren would like to make Golovkin-Saunders, provided both of them win their next fights, in the first half of 2017.
"He's nearly been out for a year. There were a couple problems and a few fights fell through, but I want to get him back in the ring. He wants to get back in there, get a fight under his belt. Hopefully he comes through [in his next fight]. He said himself that he wants the fight with GGG. He wants to fight Triple G. So if he wants to do it then we'll try to make it happen," Warren told BoxingScene.com.
