Gennady Golovkin to step away from ring after father's passing

There is no timetable for Gennady Golovkin's return to the ring after his father's passing. (Rich Graessle/Icon SMI) NEW YORK -- Middleweight champion Gennady

There is no timetable for Gennady Golovkin's return to the ring after his father's passing. (Rich Graessle/Icon SMI)

NEW YORK -- Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will not fight on April 26th due to the recent passing of his father, K2 Promotions Managing Director Tom Loeffler told SI.com. Golovkin (29-0) was tentatively scheduled to face Andy Lee at Madison Square Garden.

Golovkin’s father, Gennady Ivanovich Golovkin, died unexpectedly of a heart attack last month in Kazakhstan. He was 68. Golovkin, 31, has endured several family tragedies. In 1990, his older brother, Vadim, a soldier in the Russian army, was killed in action. In 1994, another older brother, Sergey, also a soldier, was killed.

"It was very tough, very tough," Golovkin told SI.com last year. "My family, it really tore us up."

Loeffler offered no timetable on Golovkin’s return to the ring. Golovkin has been in Kazakhstan with his mother and his twin brother, Max, since his father’s death.

“It’s hard to say what is going to happen,” Loeffler said. “I think it is going to be a significant amount of time before he gets back to the States. He is the eldest surviving brother. He is the oldest twin. He has a lot of responsibility. There is a 40-day mourning period there. He will be there at least that long, possibly longer.”

An HBO spokesman told SI.com that the network would explore possible options for the April 26th date. The Garden remains on hold and its possible another fight could replace Golovkin-Lee at that venue.

-- Chris Mannix