A week removed from the WBA’s ruling on the official purse split, the potential match between Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) and Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) has been shelved, at least until 2017.
The two sides had been neck-deep in negotiations for a December clash, which would have settled the argument as to who is the world’s best middleweight.
“I don’t think 12/10 is happening,” said Jacobs’ trainer Andre Rozier to Boxing News. “Not enough time. It’s a great fight. It needs the proper seasoning.”
With the WBA mandating the match, and both fighters wanting to compete once more before the end of the year, it was looking as if the fight was actually going to get made. K2 Promotions, which represents Golovkin, even had New York’s Madison Square Garden reserved as the potential venue.
“We haven’t really even started to gear up (for training) and we’re talking about six weeks to get it all together,” add Rozier in an interview RingTV.com. “Honestly, from my standpoint, I wouldn’t let him fight on Dec. 10. That’s just the bottom line.”
Jacobs’ formal request to the WBA for a 60-40 split, versus the standard 75-25 for the champion, seemed to slow down the negotiation but, as recently as last week, Loeffler seemed hopeful that both sides would find common ground before the fight went to purse bid.
“Right now, there’s a throne and Golovkin sits on it,” said Jacobs to Boxing News just days before Golovkin-Brook. “That’s where I want to be at. He’s looking impressive every fight and he’s fighting regularly and that is a big advantage to have. Do I think I can beat him? Of course, I can beat him but I’ve got to go into that fight at 100 per cent knowing I can beat him…It’s a fight I’d take in 2017 and I’d be confident in myself if it came off.”
With Jacobs out of the picture for December, will Golovkin fight once more in 2016?
“No,” said Loeffler to Boxing News. “We’re focused on getting the mandatory out of the way with the WBA. So, he’s going to wait until he fights Jacobs.”
