Canelo-Golovkin: Does 55/45 split sound fair?

By Boxing News - 09/19/2016 - Comments

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By Jim Dower: It’s becoming apparent that the fans might not see the much hoped for mega-fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and unbeaten middleweight star Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) in 2017 as previously mentioned by Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya. If he’s really serious about wanting to get Golovkin for Canelo to fight in 2017, then he’ll offer him a 55-45 deal.

That percentage cut of the revenue will bring a smile to the face of Golovkin, his trainer Abel Sanchez and most importly to his promoter Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions. It will also bring a smile to the face of the boxing fans, because they’ll get a chance to see this great fight while Golovkin is still able to get around the ring without the use of a walker.

We don’t want to wait until Golovkin is middle-aged before the fight against canelo is made. The fight loses it’s value if Golden Boy waits until Golovkin is an old man before they make the fight. That’s why they need to close the deal quickly by offering him a 55-45 split of the loot.

The sticking point in the negotiations was the original starting offer of eight-figures by Golden Boy Promotions to Golovkin’s promoter for a fight in September 2017. It simply wasn’t enough. We didn’t a breakdown by De La Hoya about what percentage Golovkin’s $10 million is compared to the money that the fight is expected to make Canelo. But if he’s going to be making $100 million to $250 million for the fight, then $10M is not going to get the job done.

It might take a little give on Golden Boy’s part to make the Canelo vs. Golovkin fight happen, because I believe that a split of 90-10 or even 96-4 isn’t going to get the job done. If Canelo is going to make over $100 million to $250 million for the fight, it doesn’t make sense for Golovkin to agree to $10 million up front. That’s why a percentage deal has got to be in place ahead of time for Golovkin rather than him agreeing to $10 million or so.

Believe it or not, Canelo and Golden Boy need Golovkin more than he needs them. Golovkin is the multi-belt champion, and he’s the one that is taking the boxing world by storm with his “drama show” performances. Golovkin has knocked out 23 opponents in a row, and he’s been fearless in taking on all comers in the middleweight division.

We’re not seeing Golovkin rehydrate into the mid-170s or low 180s and saying he’s not a middleweight. We’re not seeing Golovkin move down to 154 so he can take on arguably the weakest of the 154lb champions in Liam Smith rather than taking on the best in Erislandy Lara or the Charlo brothers.
Without this fight, Canelo will be stuck moving up to 160 and facing the weaker fighters most likely, and probably still fighting welterweights at catch-weights like we saw in Canelo’s fights Amir Khan and Matthew Hatton.

We don’t know what percentage Golovkin was offered for the Canelo fight, and we’ll probably never know. If Canelo is going to be getting a huge percentage of the revenue for the fight, then it’s probably not going to be a doable fight no matter what De La Hoya says about the fight taking place next year. If Loeffler and Golovkin have a rough idea of how much the fight is going to gross, then De La Hoya is probably not going to be able to buy them off with a lowball offer of $10 million for a fight that could gross $300+ million. Canelo’s popularity could go through the roof if he beats Golovkin in 2017. But I think he’s going to need to give ground to his elders and give respect to Golovkin as a fighter and what he’s accomplished as a pro by giving him a 55-45 cut of the revenue. If Canelo is stubborn and chooses not to give Golovkin a fair cut of the pie, then i think the fight will never get made.