“Tentative deal in place” for Gennadiy Golovkin-Kamil Szeremeta

After both he and Canelo Alvarez were stripped of their IBF middleweight titles for failing to fight their mandatory challengers in a timely fashion, Gennadiy Golovkin appears to be taking no chances. The Athletic reports that Golovkin intends to face #1 contender Kamil Szeremeta in the first quarter of 2020 and that the two have a “tentative deal in place.”

This isn’t the first time the two have been poised to meet. Szeremeta (21-0, 5 KO) was among the shortlist of opponents for Golovkin’s (40-1-1, 34 KO) DAZN debut before Steve Rolls got the call. The 29-year-old Pole has since picked up a pair of victories, taking a decision over Edwin Palacios on a local show and knocking out Oscar Cortes last weekend ahead of Golovkin’s narrow win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

The Cortes win was Szeremeta’s Stateside debut; he’s thus far cut his teeth against mid-level opposition on the European circuit. He’ll be in unfamiliar territory against Golovkin, who’s shown that he can still do damage even with his visible decline.

Canelo, Demetrius Andrade, and Derevyanchenko are all more appealing options for “GGG,” obviously, but at least this way he won’t have the IBF breathing down his neck. Now he’ll be able to rematch Vanes Martirosyan whenever he wants.