Golovkin could be stripped of IBF belt

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin could be stripped of his IBF Middleweight title should he go through with a fight with Vanes Martirosyan.

IBF attorney Linda P. Torres sent a letter on Tuesday to attorney Ron DiNicola, who represents the Golovkin side, and Alex Dombroff, the attorney for promoter Lou DiBella, who promotes IBF mandatory challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko, outlining the reasons for the IBF’s refusal the grant approval for Golovkin-Martirosyan, a source with knowledge of the letter told ESPN.

In the letter, Torres outlined the reasons for the IBF’s refusal the grant approval for Golovkin to defend against Martirosyan. The IBF’s reasons for refusing the approve the fight are same reasons why the proposed bout with Martirosyan (36-3-1, 21 KOs), 31, a 2004 U.S. Olympian from Glendale, California, has received so much criticism from boxing fans and media: Martirosyan is coming off a loss, he is a junior middleweight who would be moving up in weight and he has not fought in two years.

If Golovkin goes ahead with the bout against Martirosyan, the IBF said it would invoke its rule 5.H, which states, “If a champion participates in an unsanctioned contest within his prescribed weight limit, the title will be declared vacant whether the champion wins or loses the bout. The championships committee, with the approval of the (IBF) president, will then establish a new champion in that division in accordance with the procedures established and prescribed in these rules.”

The IBF rules do provide Golovkin with the ability to seek an exception to the mandatory bout, but the IBF’s reasons for not approving the fight in the first place would not bode well for him to get the exception granted. Loeffler acknowledged the letter from the IBF and told ESPN that Golovkin plans to fight May 5 and said their side will seek an exception, adding that he hopes the IBF will grant one.

“Gennady is a proud champion of the IBF and, as a unified world champion, he looks forward to remaining champion for a long time and defending his middleweight titles many more times,” Loeffler said.