Negotiations have begun for Gennady Golovkin to fight Daniel Jacobs, the Word Boxing Association has confirmed.
Golovkin holds the WBA's 'Super' middleweight title (as well as WBC, IBF and IBO honours), but Jacobs still holds a 'regular' version of the WBA belt.
The organisation's president Gilberto Mendoza Jr is committed to unifying its middleweight title and has revealed that talks are underway for a December 10 meeting at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Mendoza Jr exclusively told Sky Sports: "They are negotiating. Already, Jacobs' handlers have sent an offer - the numbers - to [Golovkin's promoter] Tom Loeffler. That's what I've heard.
"I'm waiting. There will be a time, if nothing happens, that we will call for purse bids.
"I'm looking forward to having one champion in the division. I hope that by this time next year, we will have one champion in each division."
Unbeaten Golovkin, fresh off a fifth-round stoppage of Kell Brook, has signalled his desire to unify the 160lbs division and Jacobs' lesser version of the WBA belt is his first port of call.
The WBO title, held by Billy Joe Saunders, is the only other middleweight title outside of Golovkin's grasp but the Kazakh's manager has suggested the Brit "isn't serious" about a unification fight.