Gennady Golovkin: Kamil Szeremeta, not Canelo Alvarez, is next

Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin III? It’ll have to wait until next year, apparently.

Golovkin told Sports Illustrated that he plans to follow through on plans to defend his middleweight title against mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta, although when it will take place remains uncertain because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Alvarez presumably would be next in line if Triple-G beats Szeremeta.

“I made a commitment before all this situation with coronavirus happened,” Golovkin said. “I’m talking about my fight with Szeremeta. I intend to keep my word. Once the situation changes, as soon as everything is back to normal, I intend to have this fight first.”

Alvarez and Golovkin fought to a draw in September 2017; the Mexican won the rematch by a decision the following September.

Golovkin pointed out that Alvarez had not been eager to face him a third time.

“They actually avoided this fight in September,” he said. “They didn’t want to fight in May of 2020. So I went my way. I have my own career, and I figured: How long should I wait?”