By Adrian Warren

Daniel Geale has written to a leading television executive to explain why he has knocked back a fight with Gennady Golovkin and to stress that he definitely wants a crack at the hard-hitting boxer.

Former WBA and IBF world middleweight champion Geale fights world-ranked fellow Australian Garth Wood in Sydney on February 19 in his first bout since losing the IBF strap to Englishman Darren Barker last August.

Geale wants to prove he isn't "done and dusted" after that loss and is worthy of a shot at another world title.

Felix Sturm, who took the title off Barker last December, wants a rematch later this year with Geale, who dethroned the German in 2012.

However, another Australian, Sam Soliman, is the mandatory contender.

Geale was offered an April 26th HBO televisd fight against Kazakhstan's WBA and IBO world champion Golovkin, the man with the best KO percentage of any world champion.

However, he turned it down as the fight would not have been seen in Australia, as the main pay-TV provider is already committed to bringing in a UFC promotion on that date.

Geale has written to HBO president Ken Hershman to emphasize he wasn't running scared of unbeaten Golovkin, who has won 26 of his 29 bouts by KO.

"Because it's the truth, we weren't ducking him," Geale told AAP. "If they had given us a week later or a week before, it would have been perfect."

"But they wouldn't budge on the date and I want the people of Australia to be able to see a fight like that. Golovkin has built his name up so well, he's stopped pretty much everybody he's been in there with. I don't want to go over there and do something great and nobody see it."

Geale remains confident of beating Golovkin, who defeated him in their amateur days, after watching the champion stop Osumanu Adama, the Ghanaian who took the Australian 12 rounds in a world title bout in Hobart in 2012.

Geale is determined to make a statement and impress against Wood to disprove any sceptics who believe his career is on the slide after the Barker loss.

"I've got a point to prove now and I've got to show people I'm not done and dusted," Geale said.

"A lot of people do think that probably now I've been beaten, that's going to be it.

"But I've got to show people that I'm back and better than ever, more hungry."