By Manuel Perez: Boxing fans have been attacking Saul “Canelo” Alvarez ever since he gave up his WBC middleweight title on Wednesday. The fans are calling the super star Canelo a chicken and a ducker because he gave up his WBC title after being given a deadline for his negotiations with interim WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin for their proposed fight. Let me make this clear; Canelo is not a chicken!
Canelo is a smart business man and he made the right move by choosing to give up the WBC middleweight title rather than be pressured with artificial deadlines created by the World Boxing Council for him to complete the negotiations with Golovkin.
As Canelo said, he’s not afraid of no man, least of all Golovkin. The fight is going to happen happen between the two middleweights, but it’s going to happen when everything is right with the negotiations. Canelo isn’t going to let himself be railroaded by the WBC is being pushed faster than he’s ready to be pushed.
The fans need to understand that Canelo isn’t afraid of Golovkin. He’s not afraid of anyone in the middleweight division. Canelo has always taken the fights that people thought he wouldn’t or shouldn’t take. At 25, Canelo has already fought Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosely, Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto and Austin Trout.
Golovkin doesn’t hae any of those names on his resume or anyone even close to being as good as those fighters. Those are great fighters and Canelo fought them all and beat all of them except for Mayweather. Canelo might have beaten Mayweather too if he didn’t have to be drained by the unreasonable 152lb catch-weight for that fight. That was asking too much for Canelo at too early in his career to be fighting a veteran champion.
”For the entirety of my career, I have taken the fights that no one wanted because I fear no man,” said Canelo in his statement to the boxing media on Wednesday. ”Never has that been more true than today. I will fight ‘GGG,’ and I will beat ‘GGG’ but I will not be forced into the ring by artificial deadlines. I am hopeful that by putting aside this ticking clock, the two teams can now negotiate this fight, and ‘GGG’ and I can get in the ring as soon as possible and give the fans the fight they want to see.”
Fans need to read those words and realize that Canelo is serious. He’s not afraid of Golovkin, and HE WILL fight him and likely beat him as well.
Canelo is in another bracket from every day run of the mill fighters like Golovkin in terms of his popularity. Canelo is making big money for his fights, and he doesn’t need him. It’s Golovkin who needs Canelo. This is a fight that Canelo is doing for the fight fans because he doesn’t need to do it if he doesn’t want to.
Canelo will still be the sport’s top fighter whether he fights Golovkin or not. He’ll fight him, but he won’t be pushed into rushing through the negotiations just because the WBC is telling him he needs to wrap up the negotiations. The WBC title isn’t important to a star like Canelo because he’s bigger than the belts. He’s a star that the sanctioning bodies would likely love to have as their champion.
Read these fine words from Canelo’s caring promoter Oscar De La Hoya:
“There is no denying that Canelo is the biggest star in the sport of boxing. He is eager to get in the ring with ‘GGG’ to show the world that he is also the best pound for pound fighter in the sport, but we won’t negotiate under a forced deadline. Now that the WBC title is off the table, I am hopeful that ‘GGG’ and his promoter K2 Promotions will come to the table in good faith and get this deal done.”