Friday 29 January 2016 10:27, UK
The ferocious Gennady Golovkin is threatening to bring his world championships and unbeaten record to our shores, so who's in the running to face the Kazakh king?
The WBA 'Super' and IBF middleweight champion has emerged as the top pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, his knockout blows hidden behind an ominously silent demeanour. But there are plenty of British and Irish champions ready to welcome him over to our side of the pond, plus one Mexican warrior preparing for a Las Vegas showdown.
Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler exclusively told Sky Sports about the options...
The red-headed Mexican, whose only loss in 48 outings was to Floyd Mayweather, overpowered Miguel Cotto to win a world title two months ago to put him on collision course with Golovkin.
Loeffler: Canelo is obligated to defend his WBC title against Gennady. Out of respect for the WBC we allowed permission to let the Canelo v Cotto fight happen. They needed our permission for that to happen, actually we would have loved to fight Cotto, but we allowed it to happen.
Canelo has just won the title, and they've said they want to make one defence before he fights Gennady to build up the fight. That's where we're at, right now. It's in the writing that Canelo fights Gennady or his status as champion will be vacated by the WBC.
They've said they want to make one defence before he fights Gennady to build up the fight. That's where we're at, right now.
What a lot of people don't realise is that Canelo actually fights heavier than Gennady. He'll walk into the ring at 175lbs even if he weighs in lower, so it's not a disadvantage for him to fight us at 160lbs.
I don't understand these smaller guys being considered the lineal middleweight champion - to me, it's ridiculous to have anyone rated above Gennady at middleweight. Then they make all these catchweights - Cotto fought at 157lbs against Daniel Geale and at 155lbs against Canelo.
In our particular instance against Canelo there wouldn't be any negotiations about the weight. It would be two middleweight champions fighting each other at 160lbs. Now if Canelo vacates the title and it becomes a voluntary fight down the road in 2017, then anything is negotiable - the money, location and weight.
But under current circumstances he is mandated to defend his middleweight title. There's a 50 per cent chance of it happening - they could give up the title because they don't want to fight Gennady, but Canelo is a proud warrior who didn't have to fight Austin Trout or Erislandy Lara so he's proven he's not afraid.
He might not hold a world title but Eubank Jr remains in the mix if Golovkin's team can arrange a fight in London, due to his unique brand of appeal.
Loeffler: Like Tyson Fury, I think Eubank Jr - and Eubank Sr - are great promoters who certainly create a lot of fan interest. But a lot of people say they will fight Gennady, then when it actually comes to sitting down, things change pretty quickly.
I had a chat with Eubank Sr, I came over for Anthony Joshua vs Dillian Whyte and we were at the same hotel. He's a pleasant guy but I don't know how realistic it is to fight because I hear the financial demands are unrealistic.
That's the biggest non-title fight for Gennady in the US or the UK - Eubank Jr is known in the US because of his surname. Eubank Jr would be the perfect scenario because he's a self-promoter who stirs the pot.
Gennady is so respectful that sometimes it helps to have a brash opponent. Curtis Stevens did it but crossed the line - that's Gennady's Eastern Bloc mentality. Gennady punished him for a couple of extra rounds more than he needed to.
The WBO middleweight champion also holds a perfect record having knocked off fellow contenders Eubank Jr and Andy Lee. But Golovkin wants his belt...
Loeffler: The one that makes the most sense just because he's the champion would be a unification fight with Saunders.
We made an offer and they didn't turn it down, they just wanted a couple of defences to build up a future fight. That could be in the States or in the UK, but honestly Saunders isn't well-known in the States.
If Saunders does another fight with Eubank Jr or has a couple of defences I could definitely see it becoming a bigger fight for us. At the same time, Gennady is the type of fighter who wants to fight for titles.
If Saunders makes a defence then wants a fight in July, that's a stadium fight. It's certainly possible before the end of 2016.
Not even the IBF super-middleweight champion has escaped Golovkin's attention. Should the Kazakh come to London, he could step up a division.
Loeffler: If Gennady goes up in weight to 168lbs and beats DeGale, he's not going to keep the 168lbs title. He'd go back down to middleweight.
Sure, it's been discussed, that's something that's interesting on our side, too. If the timing is right, if DeGale makes another couple of defences, that fight could be out there by the end of 2016.
DeGale seems to be the type of fighter who isn't afraid to get in the ring, that's the impression I have.
The Irishman lost his last fight, and the WBO title, to Saunders but his impressive resume in Britain, Ireland and the United States has caught Golovkin's eye.
Loeffler: I have a feeling that Lee, if he had won [against Saunders] would have been a massive fight in New York because we made a deal with him once before but unfortunately Gennady's father passed away.
Lee had made a few defences and had fought at Madison Square Garden. When you combine that with Gennady's ability to sell tickets it would have been a huge event.
Andy is still on the radar. He's a top middleweight, he's world-class, he lost a close decision to Saunders so if he gets a win or two he becomes someone who is interesting for the future.
