Golovkin hinting at an announcement of his return to the ring. Is Canelo his target?

Multiple reports last week indicated Gennady Golovkin will soon announce a ring return.

And, although no one expected Golovkin would follow Marvin Hagler’s lead and retire from boxing following a controversial defeat, the former middleweight champion deserved all the time and space to ponder his future.

Four months have past since Golovkin lost his title against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. The native of Kazakhstan felt betrayed by the scoring of his two bouts with Alvarez — the first ending in a draw and the rematch, a majority decision outcome, closing his eight-year middleweight reign.

Fellow middleweight champion Hagler felt similar frustrations after his middleweight title loss to Sugar Ray Leonard 31 years earlier.

Like Golovkin, Hagler dominated the division during his seven-year title run and became one of the sport’s top fighters. But Leonard enjoyed wider appeal, a trait shared by Alvarez.

Leonard’s popularity and his return to the sport after a three-year retirement became sentimental factors that possibly swayed close rounds in his favor.

Skeptics of the Alvarez-Golovkin result point to Alvarez’s pay-per-view appeal and heavy signature fight history in Las Vegas, site of their two bouts, as theories why Golovkin is no longer champion.

Hagler bitterly walked away from the sport at 33, rejecting all comeback overtures. Staying retired spared Hagler the all too common storyline of faded champion who returns and far from resembles his championship peak.

Golovkin, 36, is not expected to take the same path as Hagler but should be commended for maintaining his privacy since the Alvarez fight.

When Golovkin returns, the logical marquee match will be a third bout with Alvarez.

But Alvarez’s fights no longer are pay-per-view events after he signed an 11-fight deal with the streaming service DAZN. Alvarez made his debut on DAZN on Dec. 15 and will fight Daniel Jacobs May 4 in his second bout under the new pact.

If another fight with Alvarez occurs, it will likely require Golovkin to sign with DAZN now that HBO ended its boxing coverage.

The premium cable network broadcast Golovkin’s fights during the height of his title reign. Golovkin and Jacobs’ promoter Eddie Hearn, whose top fighter, heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua also has a fight deal with DAZN, met last week, according to reports.

Golovkin’s other network options are ESPN and Showtime.

ESPN has a promotional tie-in with Top Rank, while Premier Boxing Champions, the stable of fighters which recently added Manny Pacquiao, showcases its fighters on Showtime and Fox.

During Golovkin’s current ring separation, the sport’s power brokers should appreciate his accomplishments. Although not blessed with Alvarez’s popularity, Golovkin run of 20 successful title defenses and 23-fight knockout streak serve as perfect examples why he will be on the short list of best fighters of the decade.

Three-time champ

Sergey Kovalev became a three-time light-heavyweight champion after his unanimous decision victory over Eleider Alvarez late Saturday in Frisco, Texas.

Kovalev (33-3-1) won the bout 116-112 on two judges’ scorecards and 120-108 on the third as he reclaimed the World Boxing Organization light-heavyweight belt he lost in a seventh-round knockout against Alvarez (24-1) last August.

Kovalev also had a three-year championship run before losing his title against Andre Ward in 2016.

On the same card, Mexico’s Oscar Valdez (25-0, 20 KOs) retained his WBO featherweight title with a seventh-round TKO over Italy’s Carmine Tomassone (19-1).

Ghana’s Richard Commey (28-2, 25 KOs) won the vacant International Boxing Federation lightweight title with a second-round TKO over Russia’s Isa Chaniev (13-2).

Mares Withdraws

Three division world champion Abner Mares withdrew from his super-featherweight title fight against Gervonta Davis Saturday night because of an injury to his right elbow sustained while training two weeks ago.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat this — I’m disappointed and devastated that I’ve injured my right elbow in sparring,” Mares said in a statement. “This is something that I haven’t had happen to me during my career and the feeling is just horrible.”

Mexico’s Hugo Ruiz, a fomer super-bantamweight titleholder, has replaced Mares as Davis’ opponent.

Coming up

Saturday (10 p.m., Showtime): Gervonta Davis vs. Hugo Ruiz, 12, for Davis’ WBC super-featherweight title.

This story was originally published February 3, 2019 at 4:24 PM.