The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE decision on who will face IBF, IBO, WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin has come down to Bahamian Tureano Johnson now that Englishman Billy Joe Saunders has been ruled out by his camp.

Promoter Frank Warren said Saunders, the WBO title holder, has turned down the offer to face GGG in a unification bout, thus opening the door for Johnson to face the Kazahk superstar for a shot at the title.

Appearing on Buncy’s Boxing Hour, Warren turned down the offer to face GGG in April and will focus on a title defence of his own in the summer. “We’ll name his opponent and date but he will have a mega fight in the summer,” he said. “It won’t be Golovkin in April, that’s the date we were offered. For me it’s a football stadium type fight. Not saying that we don’t want the fight, Bill wants to do it but it makes no sense. It’s about making the fight on the right terms and more importantly the right time.”

Johnson earned his spot as mandatory contender when he dominated Eamonn O’Kane on the undercard of Golovkin’s most recent victory, a knockout over David Lemieux in his Pay-Per-View debut.

Golovkin’s coach Abel Sanchez told boxingscene.com that they are willing to face either fighter in the near future. “At the end of the day we do have a mandatory that we have to take care of with Tureano. Tureano has earned the right to fight for the IBF title,” he said. “Of course if we were to fight Saunders it would trump that mandatory and the mandatory would be extended further down the road. Either guy it doesn’t matter to me.”

After further discussions between Johnson’s Golden Boy Promotions and Golovkin’s K2 Promotions, Johnson says he’s ready to face Golovkin right now and he is ready to win. The 31-year-old improved to 19-1 (13 KOs) since he made the shift to the professional ranks following his impressive run at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

While he noted his admiration for Golovkin’s punching power, Johnson said he is willing and able to accept the challenge. “He’s like any other character. He’s one that has very good technique, very good balance, extremely serious power. I would love to feel the heaviest blow from the hardest puncher. I don’t like taking punches but I do have a knack for taking a good blow. He could hit me with all he’s got, I can hit him back too,” Johnson said. “You’re just not going to see a competitor, you’re going to see a champion arise when I fight Triple G.”