Reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Organization (IBO) middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin expressed interest in facing former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2015.
Golovkin, who holds an impressive 31-0 record with 28 knockout victories, said in an interview that he is willing to move to 168-pound division to face Chavez in a pay-per-view fight.
Golovkin was linked to Chavez earlier this year, but the Mexican boxing star reportedly turned down the proposed fight. The 28-year-old former middleweight world champion has not fought since scoring a unanimous decision win against Brian Vera in March, and has no fight scheduled for next year at this point.
Golovkin is also being mentioned as a possible opponent of Andre Ward. However, Golovkin is not interested in facing Ward, saying that the former super middleweight champion is not a pay-per-view fighter at this point, but he quickly added that he will be open to facing the California native in the future.
"Ward is great champion. I think that in the future this fight will be much bigger and that would be better for everyone," Golovkin said via BoxingScene. "Of course, right now, I'm ready and he's ready but at this moment the fight doesn't mean that much [in terms of money and pay-per-view]."
The 32-year-old Kazakh is currently training for his next title defense against Martin Murray on Feb. 21 in Monte Carlo, Monaco in a fight where Golovkin will be a heavy favorite to win.
A win for Golovkin will likely lead to a fight against big-name fighters next year as Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions insisted that the unbeaten middleweight champion deserves to be in big bouts in 2015.
"Gennady is one of the most internationally marketable fighters in the world. At every stop the attention we received was overwhelming from the media and fans," Loeffler told Tha Boxing Voice.
Aside from Chavez and Ward, Golovkin is also being linked to a possible fight against either Saul "Canelo" Alvarez or Miguel Cotto, who will likely face each other for the Puerto Rican's World Boxing Council middleweight title in May next year.
Golovkin has expressed interest in facing the winner of the proposed Cotto-Alvarez fight in title unification bout, but it remains to be seen whether or not Cotto or Canelo will be willing to face him next year.
