Gennady Golovkin

Gennadiy Golovkin is suing Golden Boy Promotions, according to boxing reporter Dan Rafael, claiming the company owes him at least $3 million for his 2018 middleweight championship match against Canelo Alvarez.

Per that report, Golovkin is claiming "breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, among other allegations."

The fight in question, a rematch between the boxers after a 2017 draw, was promoted by both GGG Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions.

Golovkin is also claiming in the suit that it took Golden Boy three years to pay him the $9 million he was due for the fight, per Keith Idec of BoxingScene.com, and is seeking interest on that amount given the delay. 

Per Idec, Golovkin is arguing in his lawsuit that he's owed the following:

... $1,375,000 from gate receipts, a minimum of $450,000 from sponsorships for that HBO Pay-Per-View event, $31,500 in pay-per-view upside (45 percent), funds deducted as an expense from the postponement of the fight (due to Alvarez twice testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug in February 2018), unapportioned insurance expenses, 'other funds simply not paid though listed on Golden Boy’s own accountings' in the amount of $177,458 and interest on the $9,025,351 it eventually paid in full.

Golovkin's suit claims he was supposed to receive 45 percent of the ticket revenue from his 2018 loss to Alvarez and that Golden Boy was supposed to receive 55 percent, but that the boxing promoter has refused to issue him that payout. 

Golovkin (41-1-1) and Alvarez (57-1-2) appear to be set to fight again this year, with Alvarez no longer represented by Golden Boy and not named in Golovkin's lawsuit. On March 1, ESPN's Mike Coppinger reported that Alvarez agreed to fight Dmitry Bivol on May 7 and Golovkin on Sept. 17. 

Golovkin, meanwhile, will next fight Ryota Murata on April 9 in a middleweight title unification bout in Japan. It will be Golovkin's first fight since December 2020 and a chance to hype the matchup with Alvarez.

As Coppinger noted, "If Golovkin and Alvarez win their upcoming bouts and emerge injury-free, one of the biggest fights that can be made in all of boxing will be set."

Canelo Alvarez reportedly signed a two-fight contract with Matchroom Boxing that will begin May 7 when he challenges Dmitry Bivol for the WBA light heavyweight title on DAZN pay-per-view.

ESPN's Mike Coppinger reported Friday the second fight of the agreement is tentatively a trilogy matchup between Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin assuming both fighters win their next bouts. No date for that encounter was immediately announced.

GGG is working to finalize an April match against Ryoto Murata, per Coppinger.

Alvarez (57-1-2; 39 KOs) unified the super middleweight division in November when he secured an 11th-round knockout of Caleb Plant to captured the IBF belt. He already owned the division's WBA, WBC, WBO and The Ring titles.

His only previous light heavyweight fight came in November 2019 when he knocked out Sergey Kovalev to win the WBO championship, which he later vacated.

Bivol (19-0; 11 KOs) has held the WBA light heavyweight title since November 2017. His most recent win came in December when he defeated Umar Salamov by unanimous decision.

In April, the 31-year-old Russian told Sky Sports he was eyeing a potential showdown with Alvarez.

"Of course I would like to fight him at light heavyweight or super middleweight because I want to fight the best guys, and he is one of the best," Bivol said.

Meanwhile, Alvarez and Golovkin (41-1-1; 36 KOs) fought in 2017 and 2018. The first encounter ended in a split-decision draw, and the Mexican sensation won the second meeting by majority decision.

Alvarez said several times since the 2018 victory that he wasn't interested in a trilogy bout, though he left the door open if the price was right.

"I said it before the fight, and I'm going to repeat it," he told ESPN's Dan Rafael in 2019. "For me, that fight presents no challenge to me right now. We fought two times, 24 rounds. I beat him, so he represents no challenge. However, what he does represent is some good business, so if they offer me something really good, maybe the third fight can happen."

It turns out that magic number was around $85 million, which is the guaranteed portion of his contract with Matchroom Boxing, per Coppinger.

Barring an upset in either of their fights, a late 2022 date seems likely for their next clash. The last two times Alvarez fought in May (2019 and 2021), he returned to the ring in early November.

It'll likely be a Fight of the Year contender if it comes to fruition as expected.

Canelo Alvarez has reportedly agreed to a third bout against Gennadiy Golovkin on Sept. 17, but Golovkin is yet to sign his side of the deal, per Mike Coppinger of ESPN.

Talks are reportedly ongoing between Golovkin and DAZN.

Alvarez added that he is still negotiating as well and nothing is finalized:

According to Coppinger, Alvarez would sign a two-fight contract with DAZN for a pay-per-view bout against Dmitry Bivol on May 7 before facing Golovkin in September.

Bivol is the WBA light heavyweight champion, although Alvarez would be a heavy favorite as the undisputed middleweight champion and the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, according to ESPN's rankings.

Alvarez currently has a 57-1-2 career record, with his only loss coming to all-time great Floyd Mayweather. One of his draws came in his fifth-career bout, but Golovkin also earned a draw in their first matchup in 2017. It created calls for a rematch, which Canelo won by majority decision in 2018.

Considering Alvarez's dominance over his own division, it's no surprise many want to see a third bout against the boxer who provided the most resistance. 

Golovkin is the current IBF middleweight champion and is 41-1-1, the only blemishes coming against Canelo. The 39-year-old hasn't competed since December 2020, but he is scheduled to face Ryota Murata in April.

A win could set up an anticipated matchup with Alvarez, but the two sides must first agree to a deal.

If this contract doesn't work out, Alvarez also reportedly has an offer to fight Jermall Charlo, per Coppinger. Charlo is the No. 2 rated fighter in the junior middleweight division, per ESPN.    

Representatives for Canelo Alvarez are nearing an agreement with Matchroom Boxing for a two-fight deal, according to ESPN's Mike Coppinger.

Under the terms of the deal, Alvarez would step into the ring against Dmitry Bivol on May 7 before a highly anticipated third encounter with Gennadiy Golovkin on Sept. 17.

Alvarez and Golovkin fought to a draw in September 2017, with the former earning a majority decision in their rematch one year later.

On Jan. 26, Coppinger reported Canelo had two offers on the table. Premier Boxing Champions was putting a fight with WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo on the table. Matchroom Boxing was willing to set up what's surely to be a lucrative pay-per-view with Golovkin while securing an opponent before that.

Per Coppinger, Matchroom is willing to pay up $85 million for the two events, which will be broadcast on DAZN.

Bivol won't be a pushover for Alvarez—the 31-year-old Russian is unbeaten in 19 fights. He most recently earned a unanimous decision over Umar Salamov in December, and an upset over Canelo might throw a wrench into Matchroom's plans.

Similarly, Coppinger reported Golovkin will eventually oppose Ryota Murata after they canceled their fight that was originally scheduled for December.

Should everything go according to plan, Alvarez vs. Golovkin might be the biggest moneymaker on the 2022 boxing calendar.

Considering how tightly contested their first two meetings were, a promoter might even be able to wring a fourth installment out of the rivalry if the proposed fight this fall does little to separate the pair.

Pound-for-pound No. 1 boxer Canelo Alvarez reportedly has multiple options for his next fight.

According to ESPN's Mike Coppinger, Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing proposed a two-fight contract for Alvarez to face light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7 and then complete a trilogy against Gennadiy Golovkin on Sept. 17. Alvarez would put his undisputed super middleweight championship on the line against Golovkin.

Coppinger added that Alvarez also received an offer from Al Haymon's PBC to defend his titles on May 7 against middleweight champion Jermall Charlo.

Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) is coming off an 11th-round TKO victory over Caleb Plant in November that unified the 168-pound titles. He signed a one-fight deal with PBC for a Showtime PPV for that bout, and he remains free to fight for any promotion he wants.

If Alvarez chooses to stick with PBC for his next fight, it would lead him to Charlo. The WBC middleweight titleholder would climb eight pounds to meet Alvarez. He defeated Juan Macias Montiel by unanimous decision in June, which was just his second fight in two years. Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) is the identical twin brother of unified light middleweight champ Jermell Charlo. 

Alvarez is no stranger to the light heavyweight division and has already held a title in the weight class once before, defeating Sergey Kovalev in 2019. He would face a tall task in the undefeated Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs), who had two decision wins last year.

But the most intriguing option for Alvarez would be a third meeting against Golovkin. The two fought to a draw in 2017 and Alvarez took a majority-decision win a year later. Both fights were commercially successful and drew a lot of public interest. Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) hasn't fought since Dec. 2020 when he earned a referee stoppage win over Kamil Szeremeta to defend his IBF and IBO middleweight titles.

Alvarez, who has held titles at super welterweight and middleweight, has also expressed interest in becoming a five-division champion and challenging WBC cruiserweight titleholder Ilunga Makabu.

The Dec. 29 unification bout between IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and WBA super middleweight champion Ryota Murata in Japan has been canceled because of the country's new restrictions on foreign visitors due to the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to Ariel Helwani.

ESPN's Mike Coppinger initially reported the bout would be rescheduled for next year. 

The event was supposed to be held at the Saitama Super Arena. It was also said to be worth $132.75 million, making it one of the biggest fights in Japanese history. 

Golovkin was particularly excited for the fight, frequently posting countdowns on social media:

Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) was set to return to the ring after he regained his IBF middleweight title in 2019 with a unanimous-decision victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko. However, he has not fought since December 2020, when he had four knockdowns against undefeated Kamil Szeremeta en route to a record 21st successful middleweight title defense. 

Murata (16-2, 13 KOs), meanwhile, defeated Emanuele Blandamura via eighth-round TKO in April 2018 to defend his WBA middleweight title. However, he lost the title to Rob Brant via unanimous decision in October 2018 before stopping Brant in the second round of a July 2019 bout to reclaim the title. 

However, Murata hasn't fought since December 2019 when he defeated Steven Butler via fifth-round TKO to hold on to his WBA title.

Murata rose to fame in Japan after capturing a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. It was the country's first gold medal in boxing since Takao Sakurai won in 1964. Golovkin has also found success at the Olympics, winning silver at the 2004 Athens Games. 

Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryota Murata have agreed on a middleweight championship unification bout set to take place Dec. 29 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan. 

Mike Coppinger of ESPN reported Wednesday that an announcement is set to take place next week. The two had agreed to fight several months ago, but Golovkin needed to renegotiate his contract with streaming service DAZN in order for a deal to happen.

Golovkin has not fought since earning a seventh-round stoppage of Kamil Szeremeta last December. He's reeled off three straight victories since losing to Canelo Alvarez in September 2018.

DAZN inked Golovkin to a $100 million contract on the understanding that a third fight with Alvarez would take place, but no deal was struck. Alvarez had a falling out with DAZN that led to him essentially being a boxing free agent.

Murata, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, is 16-2 since turning professional. He has not fought since defeating Steven Butler via TKO in December 2019. 

Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryota Murata have plans in place for a unification fight on Dec. 28, The Athletic's Mike Coppinger reported on Thursday.

The fight will take place in Tokyo, and the time difference will have the fight air in the morning in North America. 

Golovkin, who has been the IBF and IBO middleweight champion since 2019 when he unseated Segiy Derevyanchenko in a unanimous decision victory, is 41-1-1 and hasn't been defeated or drawn against anyone besides Canelo Alvarez, who knocked out Billy Joe Saunders two weeks ago in a unification battle of his own. 

As for Murata (16-2), he claimed the WBA championship in January. 

Per Coppinger, both fighters will have another match in the lead up to the main one, and the warm-up bouts could be on the same card. 

The buildup for this fight dates back to earlier in May, when Eddie Hearn, who promoted Golovkin's most recent fight, told DAZN that a December fight against Murata was the plan. 

The update to Golovkin's schedule pushes back any potential trilogy fight with Canelo Alvarez. Alvarez, who is reportedly going to battle Caleb Plant in a September battle to become undisputed super middleweight champion, has previously said he wants Golovkin again, but under one condition. 

“If the [GGG] fight happens after unifying at 168 pounds, I’m open to anything, but it would be at 168 pounds,” Canelo said, per Coppinger. “If [Golovkin] wants to fight with me, he has to do it at 168. Why wouldn’t he do it? I went up from 154 to 160 to fight with him.”

Canelo Alvarez is open to a third fight with Gennadiy Golovkin, but under one condition.

The star, who is readying to fight Billy Joe Saunders for the super middleweight title on Saturday, wants to remain at that weight in any rematch with Golovkin. 

“If the [GGG] fight happens after unifying at 168 pounds, I’m open to anything, but it would be at 168 pounds,” Canelo said, per Mike Coppinger of The Athletic. “ … If [Golovkin] wants to fight with me he has to do it at 168. Why wouldn’t he do it? I went up from 154 to 160 to fight with him.”

The rivalry between Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) and Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) dates back to 2017, when the pair fought to a draw. In the rematch in 2018, Alvarez was crowned the winner by decision. 

Both of those fights were at 160 pounds, the middleweight limit. 

The 39-year-old Golovkin, who has defeated every fighter he has faced with the exception of Alvarez, has no fights on his schedule right now, something that Alvarez told reporters should work out in favor of scheduling the third fight. 

But before anything can get scheduled on that front, Alvarez must face Saunders. The winner will come away with three of the four major belts, with the fourth currently belonging to Caleb Plant. 

Plant is the favorite to fight Alvarez in September, according to Coppinger.