Gennady Golovkin next fight: Promoter eyes UK return for GGG, names Callum Smith as possible opponent
The former unified middleweight champion previously defended his titles against Kell Brook in London
Gennady Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler has declared that GGG could return to the UK and fight Callum Smith next year.
The 36-year-old Kazakh recently suffered the first defeat of his career, by majority decision to Canelo Alvarez, and therefore lost his middleweight world titles.
Now, it seems he could be tempted by a move up to super-middleweight to face the WBA world champion when he makes a comeback in 2019, though no decision has yet been confirmed.
“Look, Callum Smith is doing well right now,” Loeffler told when asked about a possible UK bout, “Chris Eubank Jr is fighting James DeGale – that’s a good fight.
“So there’s a lot of popular UK fighters. Coming back to the UK would be always something interesting for GGG as well.
“I think Callum Smith is a great fighter, tremendous fighter. Winning that tournament, that could be a great match-up for GGG.
“We’ve always said he would move up for the right fight.”
Golovkin fought Kell Brook in London in 2016, winning by fifth-round stoppage in front of a sold-out O2 Arena.
It was expected that we would see GGG back in the UK for a bout with Billy Joe Saunders in 2017, however it never came to fruition and is now unlikely as he recently vacated his WBO strap.
“That [the title] was the reason to fight Billy Joe, he’s a great fighter, undefeated, but the reason really to fight him was to collect that last title,” Loeffler continued.
“There’s bigger fights over here in the States, it’s always unfortunate when you have a champion that loses a title - not inside the ring.
“You can’t count him out, a fight with Billy Joe could still be possible if it makes sense.”
