Gennady Golovkin Opponent, Venue Not Finalized for Potential May 5 Fight

While Gennady Golovkin still plans to fight someone May 5, the answer to who and where remains to be determined. 

Promoter Tom Loeffler told reporters at a news conference Thursday that there are no formal fight plans, less than a month away from the scheduled bout. 

"There is no announcement," Loeffler said. "There has been so much speculation in the press, what opponent, what venue. Because there is so much speculation, Gennady wanted to come down here and sit in front of you and give you an update and say he wants to fight on May 5. Gennady has been sparring and he wants to fight May 5. There have been a lot of challenges, we've gone through a lot of names, stuff with the sanctioning bodies.

"I have been in touch with them sorting out an amicable solution for everyone while not denying GGG the opportunity to fight May 5. Nothing is finalized."

GGG was supposed to go toe-to-toe with Canelo Alvarez in a rematch of their September bout that ended in a controversial draw. Alvarez pulled out of the fight earlier this month after twice testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Alvarez's license in March. Alvarez will likely be suspended through the summer for the positive tests, which will postpone the bout. Loeffler is attempting to give Golovkin what amounts to a warm-up match before the Alvarez bout can happen.

The most likely opponent is Vanes Martirosyan, who is represented by Don King. However, Golovkin could potentially be stripped of the IBF championship because he is obligated to fight Sergey Derevyanchenko. If he does not, the IBF could strip him of the title. 

Per Rafael, the StubHub Center in Carson, California, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Madison Square Garden in New York are being considered for GGG's May 5 bout.