By Steve Kim
WBA/IBO middleweight title-holder Gennady Golovkin (31-0, 28KOs) and Tom Loeffler, the managing director of K2 Promotions, were interested observers on Saturday night as they were in attendance at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas as Andy Lee (34-2, 24KOs) captured the vacant WBO middleweight title by halting Matt Korobov in six rounds.
"We couldn't be happier for Andy, he's one of the most deserving guys, ever, to win a title. Known him since he was with Emanuel Steward and just really happy for him and he showed a lot of heart in there. He showed a championship heart and he came up with another big right-hook and won the title. So we're excited for him and now there's another big name now in the middleweight division and that would be a huge unification about at some point, whenever we can make it," stated Loeffler at the post-fight press conference.
Lee was supposed to face "GGG" this past April at the Madison Square Garden before Golovkin's father passed away suddenly in February. Loeffler says he has already reached out to Lou DiBella, who promotes, Lee.
"I sent him a congratulatory text and I have a personal relationship with Andy and Adam Booth and everything. That would be a great fight. Gennady's focused on the Martin Murray fight in February coming up but it's my job to look ahead and he's always said he wants to unify the division. So that's a huge fight."
The goal is very clear for Team Golovkin: consolidate the middleweight division the way Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Bernard Hopkins did in the past.
"Absolutely, that's been the focus. If there's a compelling fight to make him go up or down, but right now he wants to unify titles. Now that Miguel Cotto has the WBC title, Andy Lee has the WBO title, we think we're a lot closer than we've ever been to adding more titles to Gennady's reign," said Loeffler.
Lee, who plans on making the first defense of his title in Ireland says of the possibility of facing Golovkin:
"He is by far the best middleweight in the world and I have a lot of respect for him. But I have no fear of him and I'd be happy to fight him in 2015."