By Ryan Maquiñana
Middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin is close to a deal that would pit him against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on July 12. Tom Loeffler, who represents Golovkin’s promoter K2, previously stated on BoxingScene.com that such a bout would take place at 168 pounds and would be televised on HBO Pay-Per-View.
However, don’t call it a campaign. While Golovkin (29-0, 26 KOs) would be ascending eight pounds north of the 160-pound middleweight limit to face Chavez, Loeffler told BoxingScene.com on Wednesday that even in the event of a blowout victory, such a move would be temporary.
“We don’t expect a blowout (win over Chavez), but he’s going to 168 (pounds) only for this fight,” Loeffler said. “The weight -- those were the terms from the Chavez side, but (Gennady) still has a lot to prove in the middleweight division.”
Despite a string of impressive outings and a 16-bout knockout streak, Golovkin cannot lay claim to the true middleweight championship of the world. That title belongs to Argentina’s Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KOs).
“I know Sergio Martinez is the lineal champion, but we want to prove Gennady is the best middleweight champion, and the only way to do that is by getting him in the ring.”
While Golovkin is occupied with Chavez, Martinez will meet Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31 KOs) on June 7 in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Loeffler left no doubt on who he would like to see Golovkin tangle with in the fall.
“I think the (Martinez-Cotto) winner is everyone’s target,” Loeffler said. “What more can you say about Miguel Cotto going back to Madison Square Garden and Sergio Martinez, the middleweight champion?
“That’s a tremendous fight. Two great warriors. Great style matchup. Whoever wins that fight, if Gennady comes out successful in July with Chavez, I think that would be a tremendous fight to make.”
Ryan Maquiñana was the boxing producer for NBCOlympics.com during London 2012 and writes a boxing column for CSNBayArea.com. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine's Ratings Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at Norcalboxing.com or follow him on Twitter @RMaq28.