In this week’s Fight Talk, we look at what could be next for newly-crowned unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and the return of lightweight star Ryan Garcia.
Triple G turned 40 just days before the unification clash and has been chasing a third fight ever since Alvarez narrowly beat him in their rematch in 2018.
We also reflect on Garcia’s return to action after 15 months out due to mental health issues and super-featherweight world champion Mikaela Mayer’s interesting call-out after her latest win.
Here’s your fix of weekly boxing news.
GGG shows class in Japan – but is Alvarez fight a step too far?
Golovkin is an icon in the boxing world and pretty much regarded as one of the nicest men to don the leather gloves too. After taking time to click into gear against Murata, Golovkin wound back the years to produce a vintage stoppage in the ninth round.
Triple G was full of respect for Murata, who was beaten in front of his home fans in Japan, and offered his opponent his robe.
Golovkin also returned Murata’s WBA world title to him backstage.
Post-fight talk was all about how Golovkin fared as he joined a small group of fighters to win world titles over the age of 40.
Fans appeared split over whether Golovkin should actually fight Alvarez again, with the first fight ending in a controversial draw and the rematch awarded to Alvarez by a majority decision.
Garcia’s next move?
Garcia made a winning comeback from a lengthy absence against Emmanuel Tagoe in Texas. But it was far from spectacular from the American, who was fighting an opponent who had fought almost the entirety of his career in Ghana.
This time last year fans were scrambling to see Garcia take on his direct lightweight rivals Devin Haney or Gervonta Davis, but now it seems the general belief is the young star needs more time to develop.
Mayer to fight Taylor v Serrano winner?
Mayer successfully defended her WBO, IBF and Ring magazine titles with a points win over Jennifer Han. It was a dominant performance from the 31-year-old, who punished Han for ten rounds.
She now wants a massive fight and has set her sights on a unification clash with either WBC belt holder Alicia Baumgardner or WBA champion Hyun-Mi Choi.
However, Mayer also said she was prepared to move up in weight to fight the winner of Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano, which takes place at the end of the month in New York.
“I’ve been pretty clear that I want to go undisputed at 130,” Mayer said. “But if they’re not going to give me that fight in a timely fashion, I’m game to go up and challenge the winner of Serrano versus Katie Taylor.”
