Tom Loeffler, the promoter for IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs), believes Vanes "The Nightmare" Martirosyan is the best possible opponent when considering the circumstances.

The contest takes place on May 5th at the StubHub Center in Carson California.

Vanes is a very late replacement for Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who was initially scheduled to face Golovkin on the same May date at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Canelo was suspended for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, after the boxer tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol back in February in two separate drug tests.

Martirosyan (36-3-1, 21 KOs) is a huge underdog in the contest. He is moving up from the junior middleweight limit of 154-pounds, lost three of his last six fights, and has not fought since May 2016 when he lost a twelve round decision to Erislandy Lara.

But Vanes was not the first choice.

Team Golovkin was first trying to secure middleweight contender Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan.

A deal was reached in principle, but the fight fell apart after the contest was switched from HBO Pay-Per-View to regular HBO - and as a result O'Sullivan's money was cut.

Now O'Sullivan will return in a co-featured fight on May 4th, as part on an ESPN televised card, also at StubHub.

Loeffler believes Vanes brings more to the table for this contest than O'Sullivan does - based on his local popularity and experience in televised fights against top opponents.

"We believe that Vanes has better credentials than Spike. No offense to him, he's fighting on Friday night in a great opportunity on ESPN. But naturally the financials change when you're going from pay-per-view and a big arena in Las Vegas to regular HBO and a venue like StubHub," Loeffler said. 

"We weren't able to work out a deal with Spike, but we feel that Vanes, especially being rated number one by the WBC, and you can the popularity with his fans from Glendale. He has a very strong fan base here. It just made sense all the way around when Don King mentioned that he was interested. Nobody can underestimate Vanes, with his experience, his amateur experience. He will not be intimidated walking into that ring."