Report: Gennadiy Golovkin, Sergiy Derevyanchenko agree to October fight for title
Gennadiy Golovkin and Sergiy Derevyanchenko agreed to terms for a fight in October, according to ESPN.
The sides have reportedly negotiated for three weeks on the specifics and are expected to sign contracts Wednesday. It is scheduled for Oct. 5 at Madison Square Garden in New York, per ESPN, and will be streamed on DAZN. A formal announcement will be made on Thursday.
GGG, Derevyanchenko vie for middleweight title
Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs) and Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10 KOs) will fight for the vacant 160-pound International Boxing Federation middleweight title after Canelo Alvarez was forced to give it up. The IBF stripped him of it after Alvarez and Derevyanchenko, the mandatory challenger, failed to set up a title defense.
Alvarez said he was “unfairly stripped” of the belt and had no knowledge of an agreement that he would give up the title if a deal wasn’t in place by July 29.
Instead, Derevyanchenko will face the next highest contender in the rankings in Golovkin.
Negotiations held up by hotel rooms
The sides reportedly agreed on financial terms and mandatory drug testing nearly two weeks ago, shortly after Alvarez was officially stripped of the title. The fight was held up by “secondary elements,” per ESPN, including the number of hotel rooms for Derevyanchenko’s team. Tickets and fines, if for example either fighter missed weight, also took longer to negotiate.
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