WBA Orders Gennadiy Golovkin To Face Erislandy Lara

The WBA has ordered Gennadiy Golovkin to defend his middleweight title against Erislandy Lara.

The fight, in truth, was well overdue, as for the past nine years, Lara has been attempting to get a bout with Golovkin without any success. Golovkin and Lara have two weeks to agree before the WBA calls for a purse bid on February 23rd, 2023.

It remains to be seen if Golovkin will accept to take on Lara or relinquish his title. The 40-year-old Golovkin has already given up his IBF belt after the sanctioning body demanded he face Esquiva Falcao.

A potential “step-aside” agreement between Golovkin and Lara could enable GGG to compete against another person first. It is well known that Liam Smith and Boxxer have the desire to make that happen.

The WBA ordered GGG-Erislandy Lara to consolidate 160-pound titles, per a letter obtained by ESPN. PBC has been discussing a Lara-Danny Garcia matchup at a catchweight for Lara’s title, per sources. It’s unclear how the WBA’s order will affect those plans.

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) February 8, 2023

If Golovkin decides not to go ahead with the bout against Lara, it will be intriguing to observe the path he chooses to take, as he will not possess any belts.

Therefore, Golovkin’s only potential attractive matchups for spectators at the 160-pound weight class would be against Jermall Charlo and Jaime Munguia.

With Golovkin being 40 years old, he only has a limited time left in the sport, which is why any decision must make sense from a business and risk point of view.