Who Should Sub In For Canelo Versus Golovkin?

It was a busy Monday, behind the scenes, as Team Golovkin sought to hammer out who and where, to go along with the when…

 Tom Loeffler, promoter to Gennady Golovkin, told NYF that “There’s a lot of moving parts still,” when presented with info from LA Times’ Lance Pugmire, which indicated that yes, GGG will fight May 5, but maybe not in Las Vegas.

 Pugmire said that StubHub, the primo West Coast fight site, which seems to encourage the most savage and compelling bouts from practioners who glove up at that venue, is in play to house the May 5 re-set date, which will pit GGG against Foe TBA.

 No updated word on just who Golovkin might be rumbling with in Carson, CA. (Or how many persons would be severely irked if they had no big fight to attend which would justify their purchase of airline tickets to Las Vegas.) Jaime Munguia had a brief moment in the sun, last week, but his lack of experience then ejected him from the running. Spike O’Sullivan ten days ago thought he had the gig, but his co-promoter, Golden Boy, acknowledged that Team Golovkin did alert them that they were still considering other contestants. BJ Saunders probably is perceived as the best option, and there would be 2, because his smart boxing could prove to be problematic to Golovkin, who may have peaked a year or two ago as an athlee. But he’s said he needs more time to get ready, so he’s off the list.

 One name that has popped up and has merited consideration heavily in the fan sphere is Russian hitter Sergey Derevyanchenko. The 12-0 hitter is rated No. 1 by the IBF, and GGG owns the IBF 160 belt. He’s supposed to periodically defend that belt, against a mandatory challenger, and the last time he met the IBF’s top rated scrapper was back in early 2016, when he smashed down Dominic Wade.  The Derevyanchenko people have been lobbying hard to the IBF for that NJ-based sanctioning body to use their muscle and get Golovkin to accept a match with Derevyanchenko. Of any name in the mix publicly, his resume and perceived attributes seem to pass muster with most fans whe they consider who might get this 11th hour assignment after Canelo Alvarez’ PED problem.

 I reached out to the IBF today, and their people told me nothing was decided today, that more time would be needed to sift and sort and decide. “Still working on it. Nothing to report,” said IBF President Daryl Peoples.

And then, Tuesday afternoon, a new name in the mix…one Vanes Martirosyan. Wait, what? He's a 154…not a 160. So, it's clear, the dust is still settling. Because four hours after his name leaked, word appeared that he was out of the running.

 Who do you want to see Triple G tango with?