By Gregory Stangrit

Oleg Hermann, manager of WBA/IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (28-0, 25KOs), says British fighter Martin Murray (25-1-1, 11KOs) has refused to face his boxer. They wanted to fight Murray on February 1 at Salle des etoiles in Monte Carlo, but Hermann says Murray is refusing to accept the fight. The WBA placed Murray in line as the mandatory challenger to Golovkin.

On Saturday, reports surfaced that Murray was going to face Golovkin on the February date. Murray later denied the reports, stating that he was scheduled to fight on the same show in separate bout, and looked forward to facing Golovkin in the near future.

"Murray does not want to box Golovkin and for a long time he's refused to do so. Gennady primarily wanted to go against Murray, and we were glad that the WBA ordered this fight. Unfortunately, Murray refuses to go against Golovkin. We changed our plan and we're negotiating with another opponent. In the next few days, we will know [who Golovkin will face]," Hermann said.

Gregory Stangrit covers boxing for Allboxing.ru.