Gennady Golovkin has reportedly been offered a fight against Terence Crawford for next year in Saudi Arabia.
GGG has not boxed since losing to Canelo Alvarez in 2022. That capped off their trilogy as Golovkin was arguably deprived of a historic win in their first bout, which was declared a draw. Since then, Golovkin has been weighing up his future. The Khazak admitted that he has not officially retired and will return if the right fight presents itself. This has created the narrative that Golovkin would return for a mega purse now that he is 42, as a world title is unlikely. A fight in Saudi Arabia would do that.
🍿 Fight rumour of the day!
😳 Some reports that Gennadiy Golovkin has been offered a fight against Terence Crawford in Saudi Arabia
👀 Thoughts on this random match-up?#SaturdayStories pic.twitter.com/EfrEJI1iZA
— BOXRAW (@BOXRAW) August 17, 2024
READ: Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford given lifeline as Turki Alalshikh reveals message from Mexican superstar
“I’m not retired. I never announced my retirement, and it’s not my nature to announce things like that. I think to me, life is moments, and if an opportunity arises or something comes up, yes, we might see Gennady Golovkin in the ring again,” Golovkin said
Crawford had been chasing a fight with Canelo. That would require him to move up two weight classes to chase Canelo’s WBA, WBC and WBO belts. Alvarez has shown a reluctance to take the fight. He reacted negatively to the Saudis contacting him about that fight, saying he was not overlooking Edgar Berlanga ahead of their bout on September 14. Reports also suggested that Crawford could retire if he does not get the Canelo fight.
“I don’t think Crawford will fight anyone except Canelo. We [will] give him an offer for [Vergil] Ortiz, [but] I don’t know if he’ll take it or not. We have an agreement to do [a] big fight for Ortiz if Crawford doesn’t take the fight. I don’t think Crawford will fight anyone except Canelo,” Turki Alalshikh said
GGG would be an alternative. He is a big name, even at the latter end of his career. It also allows Crawford to challenge himself against a 160/168-pounder. If he comes through that, it would tell fans much about whether he could deal with Canelo. But that is a very risky fight. Fighters have shown previously that weight classes are important.
Kell Brook jumped up two weight classes from 147 to face GGG. It was not the best move for his career, as Brook was stopped. He broke his orbital bone as the former IBF Welterweight Champion was no longer the same fighter. There is a risk that Crawford could bite off more than he could chew and ruin his legacy. He is undefeated as a two-weight undisputed champion.
He has also won titles in four weight classes, making him a future ‘Hall of Famer.’ However, since Crawford is 36, he is in the latter stages of his career. There will not be many opportunities to secure big paydays with the Saudis’ help. Taking on bigger and riskier fights will help him do that. If a Canelo fight cannot be made, then a GGG bout may be the next best thing.
