Gennady Golovkin must defend his WBA title against Erislandy Lara after the game against Canelo

Via Jim Volz: Gennadiy Golovkin will need to defend his WBA ‘Super World’ middleweight title against ‘regular’ WBA champion Erislandy Lara in the 120 lbs post-match against Canelo Alvarez if he wants to keep his belt with that organization.

Some boxing fans believe that 40-year-old Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) will choose to retire if he loses a fight with Canelo because it is the last big money fight for him.

All other fights against the guys at 160 and 168 won’t pay much for Golovkin, and it’s unclear if DAZN will be willing to pay GGG the highest dollar if he continues to fight the opposing side. Confusion has been constantly faced since 2018.

A win for Golovkin over undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 17 will leave GGG with a decision to keep the 168-lb WBA belt with that organization or give it up so he can keep my 160-lb WBA belt.

If Golovkin declines the Lara match (29-3-3, 17 KOs), most likely given the low reward, he will still have the middleweight IBF title he owns.

39-year-old Cuban Lara won the minor WBA middleweight belt last year, stopping Thomas Lamanna in the first round.

It was a strange move by the World Boxing Association to sanction the match between Lara and Lamanna for their 160 lb regular WBA title instead of a more famous boxer. In Lara’s first defense, he stopped Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan in the round of 16 last May.

At Lara’s age, he would be a step forward for Golovkin from the opposition he has faced over the past four years.

You hate that Golovkin raised his record to wait for Canelo’s payday, but it seems that’s what he’s doing.

The way Golovkin fought in his final match against Ryota Murata in April, Lara will have a great chance to beat him. Golovkin has lost a lot from his bout since 2018, in part because he only fights once a year against a weak opponent.

If Golovkin continues to be busy fighting opponents of his caliber, facing Lara after his match with Canelo will be a problem for him. Lara is an athlete, and Golovkin seems to struggle against boxers with good feet.

“In the case of @GGGBBoxing who will fight @Canelo on September 17th, @WBABoxing tells you that you have to take the mandatory defense against @Laraboxing in case you are still in Medium after the fight. examination, for a period not exceeding 120 days,” say Salvador Rodriguez by ESPN.