If Canelo Alvarez opts to fight someone other than Gennadiy Golovkin in May, Eddie Hearn intends to push for a Golovkin-Demetrius Andrade fight.
DAZN’s decision-makers want Alvarez and Golovkin to finally fight a third time, yet Alvarez appears more interested in unifying titles in the super middleweight division. If the Mexican superstar successfully makes a mandated defense of his WBC 168-pound crown against Avni Yildirim in February, Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) could choose between IBF super middleweight champ Caleb Plant (20-0, 12 KOs) and WBO super middleweight champ Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) for his following fight in May.
That’d leave Golovkin without his highest-profile opponent for his first fight of 2021. If not against Alvarez, DAZN still will want to match Golovkin tough after the 38-year-old IBF/IBO middleweight champion demolished overmatched mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta on December 18 in Hollywood, Florida.
Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) knocked down Poland’s Szeremeta (21-1, 5 KOs) four times on his way to recording a technical knockout following the seventh round at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
A fight against Andrade would afford Golovkin a chance to add the WBO 160-pound crown to his collection. Hearn, whose company promotes Andrade and co-promotes Golovkin, talked up a Golovkin-Andrade fight during his most recent appearance on “The Ak & Barak Show,” which streams daily on DAZN and SiriusXM.
“You know, that’s a unification fight,” Hearn told co-hosts Barak Bess and Akin Reyes. “I think, you know, how long have we been searching for that standout fight for Demetrius Andrade? And, you know, ultimately, there’s Jaime Munguia as well, which is a great fight [for Golovkin]. But, you know, Triple-G should be looking to unify the division. He, like Canelo, if they don’t get that fight, should be looking to face the champions.
“Demetrius Andrade is avoided, and you know, I’ll be saying to DAZN, ‘Listen, you have a contract with Demetrius Andrade, you have a contract with Gennadiy Golovkin, let’s put these guys together. They’re both world middleweight champions. Let’s make the fight. It’s a really, really good, intriguing fight.’ ”
The 32-year-old Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) has recently discussed fighting Golovkin or Saunders in 2021. The southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island, also is due to make a mandatory defense of his WBO belt against Wales’ Liam Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.