Gennady Golovkin wants to face Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in a trilogy fight to settle the score once and for all, according to highly respected boxing journalist Lance Pugmire. 

The Kazakhstan fighter was famously beaten by Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas in September 2018 but bounced back into the win column with three consecutive victories over Steve Rolls, Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Kamil Szeremeta. 

The unified super-middleweight world champion is currently locked in discussions concerning a unification clash with Caleb Plant, but speaking to the media a few days before his fight with Billy Joe Saunders, Alvarez indicated a desire to fight Golovkin again, telling reporters: "The truth is, I'm open for anything."

However, Golovkin had all but given up hope of facing his bitter rival Alvarez in a winner-takes-all trilogy bout because the 30-year-old Mexican had publicly stated his ambition is to become the undisputed champion by the end of the year.  

Golovkin initially set his sights on Ryoto Murata as a result but has now changed his mind, although there is still no agreement between the two camps.   

The Athletic's senior boxing writer Lance Pugmire recently confirmed the news on social media and tweeted: "Confirmed to @TheAthleticBOX @DAZNBoxing recently reached out to @GGGBoxing to enquire about his availability for a fall fight against @Canelo , and the Golovkin response was that he's "ready, willing and available.""

He added: "Official tells me the @GGGBoxing side has no idea if this is leveraging in the @Canelo @SweetHandsPlant talks, just a check on his fight status or a nearing trilogy bout.

"I’m told he will likely not fight @BooBooAndrade before his planned Dec. 31 bout against Murata in Japan."

Gennady Golovkin

Golovkin had 350 fights as an amateur and was ranked as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by The Ring magazine for 12 months before being beaten by Alvarez    

He also won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 2003 World Championships and finished runner-up at the Summer Olympics in Athens in 2004 when he lost on points to Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov.   

In the professional ranks, Golovkin is a two-time middleweight world champion, having held the IBF and IBO titles since 2019.

The 39-year-old held three of the four major belts in boxing before being stripped by the IBF in 2018 after he allegedly refused to fight Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

But the IBF and IBO middleweight champion won the belt back after beating Derevyanchenko by unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden in October 2019. 

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