Gennady Golovkin wants to unite all middleweight titles but the unbeaten world champion could also face veteran boxer Bernard Hopkins in one of his upcoming fights.
Golovkin, who boasts a perfect 34-0 record with 31 knockout victories, is set to defend his World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and International Boxing Organization middleweight titles against Dominic Wade on April 23 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
In the event Golovkin wins against Wade next month, Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions told Boxing News and Views said that they will push for title unification bout against World Boxing Council middleweight champion Saul Alvarez or World Boxing Organization middleweight titlist Billy Joe Saunders.
But if Alvarez and Saunders both decline to face Golovkin, Loeffler revealed that they will consider facing Hopkins later this year, saying that the 51-year-old is expected to express interest in challenging the unbeaten champion.
"Bernard would be one of the few guys who would be looking to fight Gennady," Loeffler said. "So I wouldn't discount that if there wasn't a bigger option available."
Hopkins has not fought since absorbing a unanimous decision loss to Sergey Kovalev in November 2014 in New Jersey, where he lost his World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation light heavyweight titles. But despite Hopkins' long layoff, Loeffler had nothing but praises for the Philadelphia native.
"We all have a lot of respect for Bernard in what he's accomplished in boxing," Hopkins said. "He's really a living legend. People forget that before that he lost to Kovalev he was really considered a light-heavyweight, he had won two titles in the light-heavyweight division."
Golovkin is the mandatory challenger to Canelo Alvarez's World Boxing Council middleweight title, but it remains to be seen whether or not he will get a shot at the Mexican boxing superstar this year.
Alvarez is set to face Amir Khan on May 7 at T-Mobile Arena. Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya said Alvarez will get a rematch if he loses to Khan. De La Hoya is confident, though, that the Alvarez-Golovkin showdown will eventually take place.
"I'm very confident," De La Hoya told The Guardian, referring to arranging the Alvarez-Golovkin showdown. "I like Golovkin, he has a great style, he's a real fighter and he has created a mystique that I love. It's just a matter of time. Believe me it will happen very soon."
