Gennady Golovkin's next fight won't be on HBO

On February 1st WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will defend his belt against Osumanu Adama in Monte Carlo. The original plan was for HBO to televise the fight, Golovkin being one of the network's most coveted stars. However, things came to a head today, and GGG's next bout will not be televised by HBO due to logistical reasons. Simply put, the arena is unable to accommodate the production needs of HBO, leaving the premium cable giant no choice but to pull the plug. The fight itself will still go on, boxing fans just will not be able to witness it on HBO.

HBO did release a statement on the matter. Here's what they said, via Boxing Scene:

"After extensive collective efforts, logistics to produce the fight from Monte Carlo could not be resolved. We have tried for the past month to find a way to televise Gennady Golovkin vs. Osumanu Adama on Feb.1 from Monte Carlo.

"Unfortunately the venue could no accommodate our production needs. We spent weeks looking at creative ways to produce a telecast for the HBO2 service from Monte Carlo and it simply could not get resolved. We are grateful for all the assistance from Tom Loeffler and K2 in trying to get us accommodated."

So it is a bummer for boxing fans that one of the most exciting boxers in the world won't be televised like usual. But at least it's only a small fight, similar to the last one of Golovkin's that didn't get televised by HBO, his knockout win over Nobuhiro Ishida (who is now campaigning at heavyweight, for the record). Also like the Ishida fight, if you're wanting to legally watch it there will be an independent pay-per-view available to order.

According to the Boxing Scene article, K2 has a hold on Madison Square Garden's The Theatre for April 26, Golovkin's targeted return date after his fight with Adama. It will definitely be broadcast by HBO.