IBO, IBF and WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will take on a voluntary title fight before his much-awaited showdown against WBC middleweight champ Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

According to Dan Ambrose of Boxing News 24, Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler revealed that “GGG” is waiting for the winner of the fight between Andy Lee (34-2-1, 24 KOs) and Billy Joe Saunders (22-0, 12 KOs).

“Loeffler and Golovkin are currently waiting for the smoke to clear from this Saturday’s fight in the UK between Billy Joe Saunders and WBO 160lb belt holder Andy Lee,” Ambrose wrote. “Loeffler would like to match Golovkin against the winner of that fight.”

Loeffler also revealed that it is Golovkin’s first priority to ink a fight with either Lee or Saunders but admitted that Tureano Johnson would also be a good backup plan for the undefeated Kazakh. However, Ambrose noted that while Golovkin vs. Johnson would be entertaining to boxing fans, it would not generate as much interest as a potential fight against the winner of Lee vs. Saunders would.

Another name thrown into Golovkin’s next opponent is WBO regular middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs, who is coming off a remarkable win over Peter Quillin earlier this month. Jacobs would also be an enticing matchup for the Kazakh knockout artist after he stopped Quillin in the first round of their bout. However, like a potential bout against Johnson, it would not make the buzz needed for Golovkin to boost his pay-per-view (PPV) value.

Meanwhile, Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs), who plans to take on Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) in September 2016, is leaning toward a voluntary title defence against British boxer Amir Khan. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya said he would not mind seeing Alvarez go against the Bolton welterweight in May, when Alvarez is scheduled to take his first fight of 2016.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing that,” De La Hoya told K.O. Artist Sports. “I think Amir Khan vs Canelo would be very interesting.”

Live streaming info

Watch WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee defend his title against Billy Joe Saunders on Dec. 19 at the Manchester Arena in United Kingdom via live streaming on Box Nation.

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