By Carlos Boogs
Several potential options are out there for WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO middleweight world champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (35-0, 32KOs)
Matchroom Sports head Eddie Hearn, who promotes British middleweight champion Chris Eubank Jr. (22-1, 17KOs), says his fighter is the biggest financial opportunity available for GGG in the UK.
Eubank defends his British title on June 25th against unbeaten Tom Doran (17-0). The fight will be part of the Anthony Joshua-Anthony Breazeale undercard at the O2 Arena in London. After that fight, Eubank wants to secure Golovkin in the fall.
Golovkin is in talks to face Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (47-1-1, 33KOs) in the fall, but very few believe the fight is going to come through. Canelo was ordered by the World Boxing Council to defend his belt against Golovkin. Their talks hit a curve last week, when Canelo vacated his title and the sanctioning body named Golovkin as their new champion.
"I saw the statement from Canelo, who says they are negotiating and he wants the fight. I don't think that fight will happen next but he is under pressure for that fight to happen next," Hearn told BoxingScene.com's Declan Taylor.
A strong possibility for Golovkin's next fight is WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (23-0, 12KOs), who is promoted by Hearn's main rival Frank Warren. Saunders also wants Golovkin in the fall. The unbeaten champion has been inactive, due to injury, since winning the title in December from Andy Lee.
"You've got Billy Joe Saunders out there and he's got another belt. It's not as big a fight as the Eubank fight, but it's a fight for [Golovkin]. That would be Billy's first defense. It's been seven or eight months since he's won the title. They've got options [for Golovkin]."
Hearn has a full business plan to maximize the money for a Golovkin-Eubank collision on UK soil and he believes the contest would be a big financial success.
"There is big money to be made on [Sky Sports] pay-per-view. We would generate a huge gate. Of course there is U.S. TV and HBO...big international TV revenue as well, commercial sponsors - it generates a lot of money," Hearn said.
