Boxing Fans We Have A Mess In The Middleweight Division!

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By Bradley “The Bulldog” Johnson

Gennady “GGG” Golovkin has been stripped of his IBF middleweight title. Sergiy Derevyanchenko was Golovkin’ s mandatory challenger before the May 5th date that was originally intended for Canelo Alvarez. Once Canelo was forced to pull out due to (2) failed drug tests Vanes Martirosyan stepped in as Gennady’s replacement. Golovkin could have fulfilled his IBF mandatory obligation with Sergiy but choose not to on short notice. The IBF choose not to strip “GGG” of his belt at the time due to the unique situation. With that being said he had till August 3rd to defend his belt against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Golovkin was given 10 days after the May 22 hearing to have in writing a promise to fight Derevyanchenko by August 3rd. Since no promise was in place, the IBF stripped Golovkin of his title and the IBF will choose to contenders to fight for the vacant title.

Lets just be honest here, there is a big mess in the middleweight division right now. The champion Golovkin, who had three of the four major titles, is playing second fiddle to a guy who just had one fight at the 160 lbs. weight limit. Canelo was awarded a draw for surviving the first fight, failed two drug tests causing the Cinco De Mayo rematch to be cancelled, and now Golden Boy Promoter Oscar de La Hoya is saying that Gennady is the one that doesn’t want to fight. As if pricing yourself out with a 35/65 split where the Champion is being shorted isn’t part of the equation.

Billy Joe Saunders has now screwed over Martin Murray for the second time. This would lead us to believe that him and Danny Jacobs are in contention for the September 16th date with Canelo. Let’s add Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade, and Ryota Murata, to this mix and the mess of who deserves to fight who next is complete. It also makes sense as to why “GGG” has not promised to fight Derevyanchenko next. Out of the top middleweights out there ready and available, Derevyanchenko is far more high risk low reward.

For those out there that have held the “GGG” hate in your heart for so long, you get to hash tag #fraud as some sort of validation for your envious nature as a casual fan. I suggest you understand the business side of negotiations and how Gennady is juggling several possibilities as Golden Boy is simultaneously playing the shell game with the boxing public.

Of course, it is easier to paint Sergiy Derevyanchenko as the new boogie man that “GGG” is “Ducking”. I just wonder if these new Sergiy fan boys have bothered to look at Derevyanchenko’ s quality of resume? His biggest win thus far is a TKO of Tureano Johnson. Johnson is currently ranked 45th in the middleweight division and lasted till the 12th round. I’m not saying Derevyanchenko is not a prospect that with potential. What I’m saying is he hasn’t proven shit to date.

It appears Golovkin is in the twilight of his career and deserves to make some money while at the same time proving he is still the man to beat at middleweight. I think we will sort most of these things out in the next few weeks as the Canelo sweepstake is decided. If Canelo ends up in a fight with Spike O’Sullivan, then all bets are off for Golden Boy being a respected source of anything besides a smoke and mirror show.

Personally, I want to see “GGG” fight Jermall Charlo next. This could solve several problems in one fight. (1) You can no longer saying he is ducking anybody due to Charlo being a young lion in the prime of his career. (2) Gennady would also be fulfilling WBC mandatory obligation. (3) This would also be an opportunity to make some money. Although this definitely isn’t the biggest payday, with the right promotion it should be a very healthy payday.

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