It was a long road with contentious negotiations, but a Thursday press conference made it official as former unified middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin will square off with Sergiy Derevyanchenko for the IBF middleweight title on Oct. 5 at Madison Square Garden, live on DAZN.
The title became vacant after current unified 160-pound champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez was stripped of the belt when negotiations between Alvarez and Derevychenko hit a snag and were unable to agree to a deal. The next top contenders of the sanctioning body were Golovkin and Derevychenko and, although it had its issues, wasn't nearly as difficult of a fight to make.
Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs) was unable to secure a trilogy fight with Alvarez because of the Mexican star's disdain for the Kazakh native. Alvarez and his promotional team at Golden Boy Promotions insisted that GGG would need to secure a world title before they would entertain a third meeting. Now, Golovkin has the opportunity do just that against a high-caliber foe and former Olympian.
"I am so excited because I understood the situation," Golovkin said at the presser. "I work with the best people in boxing. I have the best opponent. Sergiy Derevychenko, I know him a long time ago. He’s a very good fighter. I understood my situation. This is not a game. This is a real fight."
Derevynchenko (13-1, 10 KOs) competed for the vacant IBF in October, losing a narrow split decision to former Golovkin opponent, Daniel Jacobs. While honored to be getting the fight of a lifetime with one of the biggest names in boxing, "The Technician" feels GGG's reign is coming to a close, and he'll be the one to ensure that it happens.
"I know exactly who I’m getting into the ring with," Derevyanchenko also said at the presser. "He is a former middleweight champion of the world. One of the best fighters in the world. His time is coming to an end, and I want to be the one that makes that time come to an end."
The 37-year-old agrees with Derevyanchenko in knowing one day his time in boxing will come to a close. Whether that moment comes on the first Saturday of October remains to be seen.
"I’m a little bit scared because he’s absolutely right," Golovkin said.
"Why am I scared? Because he looks good. He looks strong. He feels it’s his time right now. Maybe."