By Sean Jones: Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez wants revenge against Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin for their previous fight, and he’s given the green light to Golden Boy Promotions to make the fight for 2018, according to Golden Boy president Eric Gomez.
Calling it revenge suggests that Canelo and Golden Boy realize that he was beaten by Golovkin. There’s no other reason to describe the fight as revenge for Canelo without him having acknowledged that Golovkin basically beaten him last September. It’s good that Golden Boy and Canelo are admitting it. It shows they’re taking the high road by agreeing that it was a defeat, which the boxing fans already see it that light.
Gomez says he fight is close to being finalized, and he thinks it could have the contracts done Christmas. Gomez is waiting on agreement from Golovkin about the particulars of the deal.
The previous Canelo vs. Golovkin fight brought in 1.5 million pay-per-view buys on HBO on September 16. The outcome of the fight was spoiled by the 3 judges scoring it a 12 round draw. The boxing public never likes to pay to see fights that end in a draw, especially when it’s a fight where there appeared to be a clear winner in Gennady. 2 of the judges seemed to way out of touch with how the boxing fans saw the fight. The judges scored it 118-110 for Canelo, and 114-114. The third judge saw Golovkin winning by a narrow 115-113 score.
“The focus is revenge [for Canelo]. That is what Saul wants, and what the public wants,” said Gomez to ESPN Deportes in talking of the Canelo-Golovkin rematch. ”We are close to close, there are details that must be refined, two things that we are working on but we are close,” Gomez said.
It’s good that the fight is close to getting done. Golden Boy doesn’t have a lot of options for Canelo. Golden Boy fighter David Lemieux was easily beaten by WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders last Saturday night, so he’s no longer an option for the red-haired Mexican star. Gomez says the running that Saunders did in the fight makes him a bad choice for Canelo for May 5.
“He gave us the green light to close the fight and there are important details [still to be discussed] to reach an agreement, and once that happens we will work on the contracts,” said Gomez.
It’s not as if Canelo has a lot of choices for his May 5 fight. If Canelo doesn’t take the fight with Golovkin, then he’s going to need to fight Saunders or Daniel Jacobs. Those are tough fights for Canelo for distinct reasons. Saunders is a runner, and he’d look to out-box Canelo the way Erislandy Lara did in 2014. Jacobs has power, speed, size and he’s very mobile. Jacobs would be a tough fight for Canelo mostly due to his size. If Canelo doesn’t take those fights, then he’s looking at guys like Jermall Charlo and Sergey Derevyanchenko. Those would be grueling fights for Canelo that he could lose. Derevyanchenko is one of those guys that would force Canelo to fight a war against him. It would be a bad fight for Canelo. You’d hate to have to see Canelo take a fight against Derevyanchenko, and then face Golovkin immediately after. Canelo might end up depleted by the Derevyanchenko fight, and then have nothing left when it comes time for him to fight Golovkin.
“Maybe for Christmas,” said Gomez. ”We will continue working until we reach an agreement, it is the most important thing for us, what Saul asked us.”
It’s important for Canelo to get the Golovkin rematch out of the way, because a lot of boxing fans have been criticizing him about the 12 round draw he was given. The fans believe that Canelo was gifted the draw that he didn’t deserve. By taking the rematch with Golovkin, Canelo can stop the fans from saying he was given a draw that he didn’t deserve. If Golovkin beats Canelo in the rematch, then he won’t have to talk about the draw anymore. Canelo can just shrug his shoulders when asked why he lost to Golovkin.
If Canelo had let the Golovkin rematch marinate until 2019, he’d have to deal with the continuous abuse from the boxing public. Getting it over with is a good thing for Canelo. If he gets beaten by Golovkin, then he can move on and try and fight Daniel Jacobs for the No.2 spot in the 160-lb. division. Canelo would still be a popular fighter even if he’s beaten by Jacobs too. What makes Canelo popular is his fighting style. It doesn’t matter if he’s not as good as Golovkin. He’ll still be an exciting fighter to watch.
The venue for the Canelo-Golovkin fight will be determined after the fight is agreed upon. Golden Boy Promotions would like to bring the fight back to Las Vegas for the rematch. Golovkin understandably doesn’t wish to fight in Las Vegas again after his unpleasant experience over there last September. Golovkin and his promoter Tom Loeffler want the rematch with Canelo to take place in New York at Madison Square Garden or at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.