Golovkin officially stripped of IBF middleweight title

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The International Boxing Federation (IBF) made a decision to strip Gennady Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) of his middleweight belt, Kazinform has learnt from Sports.kz.

On May 22, Golovkin and his mandatory challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0, 10 KOs) teams met in New Jersey to discuss the matter and present their cases. The sanctioning body ruled out to strip Golovkin of the IBF belt for his failure to fight Derevyanchenko until August 3.

Golovkin and his team prioritized the much-anticipated rematch with Saul Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs), however, the negotiations reached a stalemate due to financial differences. GGG also may fight WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (26-0, 12 KOs) who canceled his fight with Martin Murray on June 23.

Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler said that the ruling was a complete shock and it is far beyond what the Derevyanchenko side was asking for. He added that Gennady is disappointed in the ruling.