By Dan Ambrose: The World Boxing Association has reportedly ordered WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (29-0, 26 KO’s) to start the negotiation process with #2 WBA Jarrod Fletcher (18-1, 10 KO’s), according to Fightnews.com. Golovkin had been hoping to get a fight against former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but the negotiations fell apart due to various reasons.
By ordering Golovkin to start negotiations with the 30-year-old Australian Fletcher, they’re giving Golovkin would appears to be one of his more easier title defenses. Fletcher is a fighter who hasn’t beaten anyone that you can call a really good fighter during his 5-year pro career. When he attempted to step it up slightly against Billy Joe Saunders, who is far from a great fighter, Fletcher was stopped in the 2nd round two years ago.
If a non puncher like Saunders was able to stop Fletcher in the 2nd round then it makes sense to speculate that Golovkin could score a 1st round knockout over this guy.
There has been talk recently of Golovkin and former IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale facing each other next. That fight isn’t a great one either, but it’s a far better fight than watching Golovkin disassemble an unproven fighter like Fletcher in one round.
If Golovkin does end up fighting Fletcher next, it’s going to be interesting to see if HBO chooses to televise the fight. Fletcher is an unknown to casual boxing fans in the United States, and the HBO brass would have to realize after looking at Fletcher’s resume that he has little chance of making it more than a couple of rounds against Golovkin. HBO wants to put on competitive fights on their network, not mismatches like this. It wouldn’t be surprising if HBO passes on televising this fight, and instead waits until Golovkin fights someone that can give him a decent fight. A Golovkin vs. Fletcher fight is a massacre waiting to happen.
Fletcher defeated Max Bursak by a 12 round decision in his last fight in February. Bursak will be fighting Martin Murray on June 21st.
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