Eddie Hearn believes that Gennadiy Golovkin will now likely move up to super middleweight instead of fighting for more belts at 160lbs.
In recent months, Golovkin has given up both his WBA and IBF belts at 160lbs, after being told to face mandatories Erislandy Lara and Esquiva Falcao, respectively.
The 41-year-old Kazakhstani has not fought since September 2022, when he lost his trilogy rematch against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, with some speculation that he might choose to retire.
However, he had claimed after defeat that he would return to middleweight, but no fights have been agreed despite those two mandatories being ordered.
Speaking to BoxingScene.com, Hearn believes the veteran does not want to walk away from the sport.
“I haven’t talked to him in much depth about his career,” he said. “But the impression that I get is that he definitely wants to continue fighting. I think at 168, he was 160 for a long time.”
He continued: “I think part of Gennadiy Golovkin is like, ‘Look, I don’t want to fight Falcao, I don’t want to fight Lara, so I don’t need the belts. My name carries enough value.'”