By Steve Kim
With HBO Sports confirming that beginning in 2019 that they will no longer be televising boxing, marquee fighters like Gennady Golovkin - who was a staple of the network the past several years - are now in essence, television/platform free agents.
"We'll look at all the options and we'll weigh out the best path for Gennady to go," Tom Loeffer, the head of GGG Promotions told BoxingScene.com while in Germany. "HBO was big for his career, launched his career in the United States and really took his career to a different level, being on HBO 14 times since his debut in September of 2012.
"But if HBO is not going to be in the boxing business in 2019, we have to look for the best platform for him. We've already had a lot of interest from other platforms and we'll see what direction he wants to go."
Loeffler said he heard the HBO news directly from Peter Nelson (the head of HBO Sports) earlier this morning.
"It's a surprise because we're such a vital part of boxing for so many years. We understand their priorities have shifted, there are other platforms that have come into North America. So we'll see what's the best platform for our fighters to continue with," Loeffler further explained to BoxingScene.
And yes, the various platforms that are looking to add to their stable have already come calling.
"Since the news broke I've been contacted by all the major platforms and so yeah, there's not only a lot of interest in Gennady but all the other fighters that have been on HBO,'' said Loeffler.
Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs), suffered his first career loss on September 15th in losing a close majority decision to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight was carried by HBO Pay-Per-View.
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com