World middleweight champion Daniel Geale in no rush to fight Sam Soliman

HARRINGTON Park hero and world middleweight champion Daniel Geale is expected to fight Australian Sam Soliman this year

Geale

HARRINGTON Park hero and world middleweight champion Daniel Geale is expected to fight Australian Sam Soliman later this year.

Soliman defeated former world champ Felix Sturm a week ago to move into the number one contender position for the IBF title, forcing Geale into a mandatory title defence.

The IBF want a Geale-Soliman bout to happen within 90 days. But the Geale camp said it may not occur so quickly.

"At this point in time we haven't heard 'boo' from Soliman's camp; we haven't even made step one on the ladder of negotiations," Garrie Francisco, a member of Geale's management team, said last week. "We're happy to fight Sam when it suits us. "(But) if someone offered Daniel big dollars for a unification, you would obviously consider that as well, but Geale will fight Sam some time this year."

Soliman is full of respect for Geale.

"What he's done in his career and what I've done in mine, we don't need that build-up," Soliman said.

"People just want to see two boxers go at it.

"We've both got so much on the line neither of us are going to take a step back."