Golovkin
World champion Gennadiy Golovkin of Kazakhstan reacts after defeating Martin Murray of England during the WBA-WBC-IBO Middleweight World Championship in Monte Carlo, early February 22, 2015. Golovkin defended his title, defeating Murray in the 12 rounds. Reuters/Eric Gaillard

Unified middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin said he would rather fight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez than face Billy Joe Saunders once the undefeated Kazakh is through with Dominic Wade.

Golovkin is fixing his eyes on a potential showdown against WBC middleweight champion Alvarez and laughed off the challenge issued by Saunders, the WBO middleweight champ. The Kazakh knockout artist said it is a joke for Saunders to call him out right after Golovkin vs Wade was announced for Apr. 23 at the Forum in California.

“It’s a joke for Billy Jo Saunders to want to face me right after we announced this fight, he’s not serious,” Golovkin said, reports World Boxing News. “I want to fight Canelo and many big fights, big shows, but it’s not frustrating for me to face other fighters.”

Golovkin’s next opponent after his bout against Wade could be against Alvarez, who will defend his WBC title against British boxer Amir Khan on May 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. But the Mexican champ’s recent statement suggests that there would be no Canelo vs Golovkin happening in the near future.

“Major fights like this take time,” Alvarez told ESNEWS as translated by Boxing News 24. “It’ll happen eventually, but it’ll take time. There’s a lot of negotiations back and forth. A lot of business aspects come into play, so it’ll happen.”

After winning against Miguel Cotto last year, the WBC has mandated Canelo to defend his WBC title against Golovkin. However, their potential superfight was postponed, with both fighters’ camp not agreeing to terms, particularly at Alvarez’s imposed catch-weight stipulated match of 155 pounds.

Moreover, with Alvarez set to fight Khan, there is no guarantee that Golovkin would battle the Mexican redhead for the WBC middleweight title in a tentatively scheduled fight in September, especially if the Bolton welterweight wins. Nevertheless, it does not seem Alvarez is into facing Golovkin after battling Khan in May, which puts GGG to look for other opponents like Saunders.

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