By Sean McDaniel: IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale (28-1, 15 KO’s) may opt to defend his titles against his International Boxing Federation mandatory challenger 38-year-old fellow Australian Sam Soliman (42-11, 17 KO’s) next rather than face WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.

Soliman’s management David Stanley said to AAP “There will be some discussions, but I’m pretty sure that it [a Soliman-Geale fight] will be the next on Geale’s agenda, so I’d imagine it will be just before Christmas.”

If that’s the case then Geale will likely be stripped of his newly won WBA title by the World Boxing Association, as they ordered that the winner of the Felix Sturm vs. Geale fight last Saturday night has to fight the winner of the Grzegorz Proksa vs. Golovkin fight by December 31st. Geale beat Sturm by a 12 round split decision and Golovkin stopped Proksa in the 5th round. Golovkin and Geale are now supposed to fight before December 31st. If Geale chooses the 38-year-old Soliman to fight, then the WBA will likely take Geale’s WBA title from him.

It might work out better for Geale if they strip him of his title rather than him facing Golovkin and getting knocked out, because he would stand very little chance of winning that fight due to Golovkin’s power and skills. Geale can definitely beat Soliman without any problems and at least keep his IBF title.

A Geale-Golovkin fight would be a really interesting bout if it could be made, but I don’t think it would go well for Geale because he just doesn’t have the power to compete with Golovkin. It would likely be a replay of Golovkin’s destruction of Proksa.