After vacating both his WBO and IBF titles within a month following these governing bodies’ mandates for him to fight its respective #1 contenders, former unified Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin has made an abrupt appearance on the WBC’s Middleweight ranking boards, appearing as the #1 contender after relinquishing his titles to deliberate on what to do next.

The WBC’s move to put Gennady Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KO’s) ahead f everyone else in their Middleweight rankings perhaps suggests that Golovkin and the WBC have had contact behind the scenes to be able to maneuver him to fight the division’s WBC interim champion, Carlos Adames (22-1, 17 KO’s), which would eventually get him the chance to face the incumbent WBC world champion, Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22 KO’s).

Golovkin’s recent actions in vacating his titles might also mean he is not planning on challenging anyone anytime soon, as he has already forfeited fighting two potential challengers. However, he could simply be trying to claim the WBC title in is division as he had never had the opportunity to win the title in his career.

In that sense, it would explain his actions – which might be considered drastic – as he would likely not sniff at a WBC title any quicker while fighting off mandatories and potentially lose in the process. Golovkin might then be taking the ‘easy route’ in this regard by leaving himself titleless to quicker snatch the opportunity for a WBC title.

With WBC world champion Jermall Charlo expected to make his return to the ring upcoming June, he has also stated his intention to defend his title after a long absence from the sport that put him out for nearly two years. There is every possibility that Golovkin might be his next opponent, which would explain his sudden #1 contender status in the WBC rankings.