Earlier this week, I was able to catch up with Tom Loeffler, the Promoter for K2 Promotion, the company that promotes “Dr. Steelhammer” Wladimir Klitschko, who has a rematch with Tyson Fury, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who will be facing Dominic Wade on April 23rd, and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez who will be facing McWilliams Arroyo as the co-main on the GGG Card on April 23rd. He went over updates for the rematch with Klitschko and Tyson Fury, possible future opponents for Golovkin, as well as the progression of Chocolatito as he is getting closer to headlining his own card on HBO.
Regarding why there has been a delay in setting up the rematch between Klitschko and Fury, Loeffler said, “Just matching up logistics with the soccer stadium. They got the Euro Cup and they got to matchup the UK PPV dates with the German TV. Nothing is finalized yet. We were looking at June, but then Fury tweaked his back, so its looks like it will be right after June sometime.”
I asked Tom if there was anything in the contract about a 3rd fight. Tom mentioned that there’s nothing currently in the contract for a 3rd fight, although he can envision that, saying “It’s just a rematch clause and both fighters want it. Wladimir obviously wants his titles back and Fury wants to prove that he’s the best heavyweight, so both guys want that fight, it just a matter of the best situation for it.
I then asked about the possibility of a fight with the winner of Deontay Wilder vs. Alexander Povetkin bout over a rematch with Fury if he was to win this rematch:
“It’s hard to say. Right now he’s focused on getting his titles back and he’ll have to see what the situation is after that. It’s a compelling fight. If it warrants a 3rd fight I can easily see that, if the other fight is out there, unification with the WBC title or depending on what happens with Joshua and Martin bout, that would also be a big fight. It really depends on how the rematch goes and how those other title fights go, but he still does want to unify all the titles”, stated Loeffler.
We then switched to the topic of Gennady Golovkin. One of the most avoided fighters in the sport would love to setup a fight with Canelo Alvarez in September, but many people do nothing think the fight will happen this year. I asked Tom if no Canelo fight when will we see GGG back in the ring and who would be his opponent? Loeffler said that determining when Golovkin will comeback will all depend on how he comes out of this fight. Regarding an opponent, Tom said:
“Billy Joe Saunders has said he’s willing to fight Gennady, so that would be the 1st choice if the Canelo fight doesn’t happen. We’re going to pursue everything to make the Canelo fight happen to get the WBC title and then, once that situation is solved, go after Saunders to see if there is a way to make that fight happen. Gilberto Ramirez, if he beats Abraham, Bob has said he would fight Gennady, so that would be a great matchup. Danny Jacobs has a nice win over Quillin so that would be a great matchup. I think there are so good options out there for Gennady, but obviously Canelo is the #1 option.”
I asked him about the rumors of fighting Kell Brook. Loeffler said, “Eddie contacted me about that fight and clearly Kell is a great fighter. We have a lot of respect for him. If there is a way to figure out the weight difference, then I think that’s would be something to look at, but there haven’t been any serious discussions about a Kell Brook fight. I could see a James DeGale fight being done easier than a Kell Brook fight, but you never know, I wouldn’t rule any of those out. The bottom line is whoever, is willing to get in the ring with Gennady, they become the #1 choice because that becomes the most realistic fight.
Finally we touched on when Roman Gonzalez may be making his return to the ring as he may be now getting ready to headline his own card on HBO. “We’re going to see how the fight goes with Arroyo. It’s another situation where Arroyo is a dangerous guy. He’s got 14 KOs, 16 wins, so he has to perform well in April. The plan if everything goes the right way, if the ratings look good, and with an impressive performance, he’s been on the same show with Gennady 3 times in a row, I think we’re at that point where he’s graduated to having his own show. So there will be a discussion, with me, Mr. Honda, and Teiken Promotions, to map out the plan for the next fight.
As for a possible opponent, many people would be happy as to what Loeffler had to say as he stated, “A lot of people have been calling for the rematch of with Estrada and I think that’s a great fight and a very marketable fight. My understanding is Estrada is going to fight in Mexico, and if Chocolatito wins on HBO impressively once again, it just seems like a natural fight. Since Chocolatito beat Estrada the 1st time, Estrada has gained 2 titles, so that would be a fight with 3 belts on the line and I think it would be a great unification fight in the flyweight division.”
It’s a good time for Tom Loeffler and K2 Promotions with 3 of the top boxers in the sport under their umbrella. Over the next 6 months is a big time for them, but by the time we get to this time next year, those 3 fighters could have 9-10 world title belts between them. With fights like Klitschko vs. Fury, Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez, and Roman Gonzalez vs. Juan Francisco Estrada, K2 Promotions could be the key to 3 of the biggest fights in the sport over the next year’s span. For a spot that is usually occupied for Top Rank Promotions or Golden Boy Promotions, K2 is ready to shine in 2016 and 2017.