Gennady Golovkin vacates unified WBA and IBF middleweight world titles after refusing to face mandat

Gennady Golovkin has vacated his WBA and IBF middleweight world titles.

The two-time unified champion, 40, is now beltless for the first time since his 2018 loss to Canelo Alvarez in their rematch.

GGG initially unified the WBA, WBC and IBF world titles between 2012-2018 when he was the dominant force in the 160lbs division.

He then regained the WBA and IBF belts between 2019-2023 after being dethroned by Canelo.

In his last fight in September though, Golovkin stepped up to super-middleweight for a trilogy contest with the Mexican.

At his advanced age, GGG was no longer able to compete with the younger man and lost a comfortable unanimous decision.

As this was in the weight division above at 168lbs though, the Kazakh was able to hold on to his 160lbs belts.

In the aftermath of the loss, he was ordered by the IBF to defend against Brazilian mandatory challenger Esquiva Falcao.

The option was explored, but GGG ultimately opted to vacate.

He was then ordered by the WBA to defend against Cuban mandatory challenger Erislandy Lara.

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Again, Golovkin decided to vacate.

It appears as though the legendary Kazakh is now looking simply for the biggest and most lucrative fight possible, hence his unwillingness to make mandatory defences.

Following the news that he'd vacated both belts, GGG became eligible to enter the rankings of the other sanctioning bodies.

The WBC have installed him instantly at their number one spot.

This could potentially put him in line for a fight with WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo, though Charlo himself has been inactive of late and not boxed since June 2021.

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