Gennadiy Golovkin not interested in Munguia fight

By Boxing News - 01/18/2023 - Comments

By Sean Jones: One of the three big names that Jaime Munguia is targeting in 2023, IBF/WBA middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin, has “Zero interest” in fighting him, according to Mike Coppinger of ESPN.

After ten years of  spinning his wheels, and fighting tomato cans, the unbeaten popular Mexican fighter Munguia (41-0, 33 KOs) is ready for a breakout year in 2023, and his shortlist is as follows:

1. Gennadiy Golovkin – WBA & WBC 160-lb champion
2. Jermall Charlo – WBC champ. *Inactive
3. Dmitry Bivol – WBA light heavyweight champion

“Jaime Munguía told ESPN KNOCKOUT that 2023 will be full of big fights for him, and he put the name of Gennadiy Golovkin as a priority, along with others like Jermall Charlo,” said Salvador Rodriguez to ESPN Knockout.

Munguia is probably going to need to widen his list to include more realistic options than the three that he’s picked out because he’s not going to get any of those guys this year.

Better options for Munguia in 2023

  • Chris Eubank Jr
  • Demetrius Andrade
  • Erislandy Lara
  • Felix Cash
  • David Benavidez
  • David Morrell
  • Ryota Murata
  • Sergiy Derevyanchenko

With the 40-year-old Golovkin off the list due to lack of interest on his part, that leaves the unbeaten Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs), who hasn’t fought in close to two years, and STILL doesn’t have an opponent selected.

Golovkin hasn’t revealed his hand about who he’ll be fighting in 2023, if at all. There’s a possibility that Golovkin could face #1 WBA Michael Zerafa (31-4, 19 KOs), a fighter that is equally as bad as Munguia.

The 30-year-old Zerafa would likely be over his head against Munguia, but he’s got a fan base in Australia. However, Golovkin can get a good payday fighting Zerafa in Australia, and there would be very little chance of him losing unless he stays in first gear through the first eight rounds as he did in his recent loss against Canelo Alvarez last September.

The last we saw of Charlo, he was calling out Bivol a month ago, wanting him to come down to battle at 168 without any titles on the line. However, that fight is not going to be happening, and Charlo has since gone quiet. Who knows when he’ll reemerge again?

The chances of Munguia getting a fight against Bivol are slim & none because he’s got a lot of exciting options for 2023,  such as a rematch with Canelo Alvarez and possibly a fight against Joshua Buatsi in April.