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If Gennady Golovkin gets his wish, he'll be facing tough middleweight contender Martin Murray in November, which will be his next HBO date. There is a hitch, as you may have already had spring to mind: Murray, due to time spent in prison years ago, cannot travel to the United States.
If the fight is to be made, though, the United Kingdom is a possibility, as K2 promoter Tom Loeffler says that Team Golovkin would be willing to fight Murray on the road.
"Martin Murray is one of the top middleweights in the world. The performance he had against Sergio Martinez has proven that and if it's a fight that can't be made here in the States, it could be interesting to see if it's something that we could do in the UK. Macklin, Barker, Murray, Andy Lee, there are a lot of great fighters over in the UK and we would be excited to build Gennady's name a lot more over there."
Murray (25-1-1, 11 KO) warns Golovkin that he's no Macklin, and that he'll be a serious test in the ring if the fight comes off:
"Golovkin does look like the real deal. He's not been tested yet but that's not his fault because he can only beat what's been put in front of me. The guys he's faced so far weren't going to test him but he's dealt with them impressively. ... I'm not Matthew Macklin or Golovkin's past opponents. Look at Golovkin's opponents. He was never going to be pushed. He was always going to come through. I rate him though and he's a good fighter but he's not fought anyone like myself. That's when you'll see the best of me. Me vs Golovkin would be a hell of a fight."
Golovkin (27-0, 24 KO) would be the heavy favorite to steamroll Murray if the fight were to happen, I suspect, but it's the right sort of fight for GGG. If he's so good that he can rip through the likes of Macklin and Murray, that's no fault of his own, nor does it mean those guys can't fight. It means Golovkin is a seriously terrific fighter. This is a fight I hope we do see in November, because I would guess it's the best fight Golovkin can make right now.