By Keith Idec
Daniel Geale’s promoter hopes ongoing negotiations with representatives for Gennady Golovkin result in the former IBF middleweight champion from Australia landing a difficult fight he has long sought.
“He has always wanted Golovkin,” said Gary Shaw, whose Totowa, N.J.-based company promotes Geale. “He has always believed he has the style to beat Golovkin.”
A Golovkin-Geale battle, which would be televised by HBO, could take place July 26 at Madison Square Garden. Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (29-0, 26 KOs), the WBA middleweight champion, was supposed to meet Mexican star Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (48-1-1, 32 KOs, 1 NC) at super middleweight in an HBO Pay-Per-View main event July 19 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Chavez turned down the fight over money, yet reportedly reconsidered. Regardless, a Chavez-Golovkin fight probably wouldn’t be made until the fall at this point because there’s not enough time to properly promote a late-July pay-per-view event.
Last week, the WBA also ordered Golovkin to begin negotiations to face Jarrod Fletcher (18-1, 10 KOs), another Australian, because Fletcher is the leading available contender to fight for Golovkin’s title. Fletcher is ranked No. 2 by the WBA, one spot ahead of Geale. That issue is not expected to impact Golovkin’s choice for July 26, though, in large part because HBO Sports executives are not likely to accept Fletcher as Golovkin’s opponent.
Geale (30-2, 16 KOs) was in prime position this time a year ago to land a fight against Golovkin, but Geale lost a split decision to England’s Barker (26-2, 16 KOs) and the IBF middleweight title in an entertaining clash HBO broadcast Aug. 17 from Atlanic City. One judge, Alan Rubenstein, scored Geale the winner of their highly competitive, 12-round bout (114-113), but Barbara Perez (116-111) and Carlos Ortiz Jr. (114-113) both credited Barker with winning.
“Daniel thinks he got a raw deal in Atlantic City, you know, by Barbara Perez and her scorecard,” Shaw said. “But he’s not a crybaby. He went back, trained, fought a fight and now wants to come back and get a title back.”
Geale bounced back from his loss to Barker by beating fellow Australian Garth Wood (12-4-1, 8 KOs), whom Geale stopped following the sixth round of their Feb. 19 fight in New South Wales, Australia. Geale was winning that fight by large margins on all three scorecards (59-51, 58-52, 58-52) when Wood declined to continue.
If he challenges Golovkin, the 33-year-old Geale figures to be a big underdog against one of boxing’s most punishing punchers.
“It’s a very tough fight,” Shaw acknowledged. “Daniel moves a lot, but Golovkin’s a very accurate puncher. He saves up his artillery and lets it all go at one time. So the question is, can Daniel move in and out, jab, score points and then get out of the way, with really good head and body movement?”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
