On June 14, the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) announced that Kazakh middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin has officially vacated his world title, QazMonitor reports citing the British Boxing News.
In an official statement, the president of the IBO Ed Levine emphasized the significant milestones in Golovkin's career, noting that when the Kazakh boxer’s reign began, notable contenders intentionally avoided facing him.
"It is with great pride and some sadness that we announce that GGG has officially relinquished his IBO World Middleweight title. Mutual respect and recognition between Gennadiy and the IBO span 12 years and 22 IBO Word title fights. GGG started this journey as the #1 middleweight in 2011 and remains so to this day”.
Gennadiy Golovkin had held the IBO belt since October 2019. He successfully defended the title twice against Kamil Szeremeta and Ryota Murata, winning both matches by stoppage, before the second defeat to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in his most recent fight in September 2022.
"The IBO World Middleweight title is now vacant. His legacy will be there for the next IBO World Middleweight title holder and all future Middleweight World Champions," added Levine.