Geale vs Golovkin Fight Could Be on the Horizon

On Saturday, both Daniel Geale and Gennady Golovkin shook up the middleweight division with wins in big fights. Geale topped Felix Sturm in Germany, unifying the IBF and WBA "super" titles, while Golovkin made his U.S. debut with an eye-popping win over Grzegorz Proksa, retaining the WBA "regular" title.

So how about a fight between the two? With the WBA having recently ordered that the winners of the bouts square off by December, it seems entirely possible that we could see Geale vs Golovkin sometime in the near future. American TV dates might not line up -- HBO is going to want Golovkin back, and Gary Shaw is going to want to get Geale on U.S. TV, which is his next step in a rising career -- but even if it doesn't happen in 2012, an early 2013 fight would probably be doable.

That is, if the sides want to fight. Golovkin, now promoted by K2, has long made clear in the press that he fears no man, and called out anyone between 154 and 168 pounds. Sturm had previously been charged with ducking Golovkin, but Shaw says that he won't go that route with Geale, and that he's open to a Golovkin fight.

"We are not going to run from Golovkin or anyone else. If Golovkin wins, I will have no problem at all making a fight with Tom Loeffler and [K2 Promotions]. If Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. wins [on September 15], I can make that fight with Bob Arum. If Sergio Martinez wins, I can go to Lou DiBella and make that fight. Maybe I will shock the world and take Daniel to 154, win a title there and then go back to 160."

Shaw has faced the realities of losing name fighters to bigger promoters in recent years, and has even seen his relationship with Showtime dwindle now that Golden Boy has moved into the rumpus room over there. What once was called "Shawtime" is no more.

So with a valuable property, Shaw seems pretty ecstatic. He's talked about bringing Geale to the States, and with two title wins on German soil, the next major move would be to come to the U.S., and a Golovkin fight would be a great reason to do just that.

Of course, and I say this purely because this is the type of crap that happens in boxing and not because there's any talk (that I've seen) about it, but I wouldn't exactly be shocked if the WBA ordered a Geale-Sturm rematch. In Germany, of course. Sturm has been a WBA dues-payer for a long time. Guys like that, with any sanctioning body, tend to get a lot of breaks.

But I'm hoping we'll see Geale vs Golovkin, or any big, legit fight for the two of them. They made their statements on Saturday. As the middleweight division shapes up in the coming weeks with Chavez Jr vs Martinez and Quillin vs N'Jikam on the calendar, we're going to find out who the top guys really are.