Gennady Golovkin will not be returning to the ring on December 10th after all. The best middleweight in the world had been looking to get one more fight in before 2016 ended, but negotiations with Daniel Jacobs have taken longer than expected and there’s not enough time to make the bout now.
Both sides have their reasons. Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler simply believes that the date is too close for the bout to get the proper build (via LA Times):
“Negotiations are taking longer than we anticipated and a fight of this magnitude needs a longer promotional schedule than we’d get if we tried to keep it on Dec. 10.”
Meanwhile, Jacobs’ trainer Andre Rozier says his fighter wouldn’t have enough time to prepare if they fought on that date (via Ring TV):
“From my fighter’s point of view, it’s not going to happen. We haven’t really even started to gear up (for training) and we’re talking about six weeks to get it all together. Honestly, from my standpoint, I wouldn’t let him fight on Dec. 10. That’s just the bottom line. I would tell them we’re not fighting Dec. 10. It’s not enough time to prepare.”
He also said that Jacobs needs 10-12 weeks to prepare, which is a bit ridiculous for a guy that just fought last month (where he easily defeated Sergio Mora).
Another hangup is due to the WBA. They have a policy where the super champion (Golovkin) gets a 75% split of the purse of any title defense. Obviously Jacobs wanted more than that (an expected 60/40 split), which Triple G’s team was willing to accommodate. They just need more time to get it done.
So, the bad news is that we won’t see Golovkin fight in December. The good news is that negotiations are ongoing, and they could fight in February or March. Just another day in boxing.