By Steve Kim

Negotiations are on-going for a fight between WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33KOs) and his mandatory challenger Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29KOs). The hope is that should this fight comes to fruition in mid-March in New York.

This fight has been negotiated for awhile, the original targeted date was December 10th but was backed up as an agreement between the two sides did not come to fruition. Golovkin is the WBA 'super' champion, while Jacobs holds the 'regular version of their title. When asked why this process had taken so long, Loffler explained - "It's always a touchy situation, Gennady has made so many title defenses and Jacobs had won the regular title and made, I think, four title defenses."

As this fight was being negotiated, what hung over their heads was a purse bid that under the WBA rules had stated that Golovkin was entitled to a 75-25 split in his favor.

"They had asked for a purse split change and we supported the WBA's position that Golovkin had made so many title defenses," said Loeffler, of the sanctioning body's decision to keep the 75-25 split.

So is Loeffler optimistic that a deal can be consummated?

"I think so, I really do,'' he said, while at the Palm Restaurant in Los Angeles, where a media gathering was held of WBO cruiserweight titlist, Oleksander Usyk.

"I mean every conversation I've had with Al Haymon it's always been positive, there's never been, 'Well, lets take a fight here in-between' and the WBA has been very firm that they want [that fight] and Gennady could've petitioned to fight somebody else in December but he wanted to go straight into the Jacobs fight"

"It took longer, the negotiations, and that's why it got pushed back to next year. But I firmly believe both fighters want the fight and I think that's a big enough fight so that both sides can work out the financial details where both sides are happy."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.