Gennady Golovkin to get WBA regular middleweight title
After much dispute in the World Boxing Association offices concerning the current “regular” middleweight titlist, the WBA will reportedly grant the title to Kazakh boxer Gennady Golovkin.
Felix Sturm was recently granted “super” middleweight champion by the WBA after his decision win over Giovanni Lorenzo. With the inheritance he vacated the position of “regular” champion, leaving middleweight
contenders Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam, Avantandil Khurtside and “interim” titlist Golovkin to negotiate the titleholder.
After clearing a negotiated bout between N’Dam and Khurtside for the “regular” title, the WBA retracted the decree and determined the title should be awarded to Golovkin, who as interim champion is mandatory
challenger for the title.
The sanctioned bout between N’Dam and Khurtside, previously for the “regular” title, has been reduced to a bout to determine the new WBA interim titleholder, a position that will be vacated with Golovkin’s
elevation.
When asked about recent developments WBA committee director Gilberto Jesus Mendoza refused comment but said an official decision would be announced in the coming days.
Originally Golovkin’s camp complained about a title-determining bout between N’Dam and Khurtside, saying that they didn’t understand how a regular titlist could be determined without him. On the other
side, opposing camps said that Golovkin was in line for a shot at the title but that he vouched instead to take on Milton Nunez for the interim title. Camps then claimed negotiations had been reached between N’Dam and Khurtside, meaning Golovkin would have
to wait to face the winner.
The news comes as comforting for Golovkin’s camp, who felt that they were unjustly being treated in the title bids. They had attempted to work out a fight with N’Dam for the “regular” title earlier but
met with resistance after N’Dam’s promoter, Sebastian Acaries, claimed the WBA had already given the green light for a bout with Khurtside.
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