UNIFIED middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will be given the IBF’s ‘highest honour’ for his ‘remarkable accomplishments’ at their annual convention next week.
The IBF today announced the recipients of each of their 2016 awards, and Golovkin – who holds the IBF, WBA and WBC middleweight titles – will receive the Jersey Joe Walcott award.
In 2016, ‘GGG’ stopped Dominic Wade and Kell Brook – the IBF welterweight champion who jumped to 160lbs for the fight – and in March of this year he outpointed Danny Jacobs. He will meet Mexican star Canelo Alvarez in the biggest fight the sport could have made this September.
The IBF Fight of the Year award will go to Andre Ward’s decision win over Sergey Kovalev in November to win the WBA, WBO and IBF light-heavyweight titles.
The IBF Female Fighter of the Year is Leonela Yudica, who holds the IBF female flyweight title.
Several high-profile fighters will be awared championship rings for making three or more successful IBF title defences. They are: Brook, Kovalev, Yudica, Jermall Charlo and Cecilia Braekhus.
The awards ceremony will close the IBF’s annual convention, which takes place next week in Downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. Attendees will include Roy Jones Jnr, Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright, Nate Campbell and several of the award winners.
