WBO, IBF and IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin has declared he has no intentions of fighting either Miguel Cotto or Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at catchweight-stipulated matches to get his hands on the WBC middleweight title. Golovkin claims he is only after the WBC title belt to conquer the middleweight division, but there may be more logical reasons why “GGG” does not want to bite into fighting catchweight-stipulated matches.

Cotto said in past interviews that he will have his opponents subjected to catchweight stipulations, while Canelo admitted he is not ready to fight Golovkin at full 160 pounds yet. Many believe Golovkin is seriously considering his goal of unifying all the middleweight titles, but according to Dan Ambrose of Boxing News 24, Golovkin’s age makes it hard for him to go below 160 pounds.

“Golovkin usually takes off 10-12 pounds of water weight to get down to 160,” Ambrose wrote. “If he’s forced to drain down to 155, he’d be losing between 15 to 17 pounds, and that might be hard on his system.”

Ambrose noted that the younger fighters, like the 25-year-old Canelo, easily lose large amounts of water weight, whereas a 33-year-old Golovkin would have a hard time losing the same amount of weight that Canelo can. However, the way Canelo rehydrates during fight night suggests he does not need any catchweights to face “GGG.”

Canelo has been as heavy as 175 pounds after rehydrating for his fights at 155-pound catchweights. In his 2013 victory over Austin Trout at a catchweight of a little over 153 pounds, Canelo rehydrated of up to 172 pounds on fight night. His weight was more than what Golovkin has managed during his recent matches at 160.

Meanwhile, trainer Abel Sanchez said that Golovkin is still interested in fighting Carl Froch, who announced his retirement from boxing in 2014. Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport also confirmed that the British fighter would consider fighting Golovkin if he is motivated enough to return.

“Carl Froch is a guy that we’ve always respected,” Sanchez told Boxing Scene. “Golovkin respects him tremendously for what he’s accomplished.”

The WBC has mandated the winner of Cotto-Canelo fight to defend the middleweight belt against Golovkin, with the threat of being stripped off the title if he tries to avoid a match against the Kazakh fighter. With this ruling, Golovkin could go after other opponents and still get to have the WBC middleweight title, which means fight fans may have to wait for a while before they see a superfight involving “GGG” and Canelo or Cotto.

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