De La Hoya says he’ll wait 2 years before matching Canelo with Golovkin

By Boxing News - 05/10/2015 - Comments

Canelo Alvarez v James Kirkland(Photo Credit:Ed Mulholland/Golden Boy/Golden Boy via Getty Images) By Dan Ambrose: Last night, Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya shutdown any talk of a fight between his fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) and WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (32-0, 29 KOs) by saying that he prefers that fans wait two years before he makes that fight.

De La Hoya says that Canelo, 24, can still comfortably make the 154 pound weight division right now, and that he feels that a fight between him and Golovkin will be much bigger in two years from now.

Of course, Golovkin is 33 now, and he might not have time to wait around for De La Hoya’s right moment to make the fight. Golovkin has already said that he probably only has another two to three years left in his career. By De La Hoya taking it right to the limit of Golovkin’s career, it might strike some that he’s looking to have Canelo wait the Kazakhstan fighter out until he’s old before finally matching Canelo up against him. In two years, Canelo will only be 26 compared to the 35-year-old Golovkin.

“There’s concern now because Triple-G is a solid middleweight,” De La Hoya said after Canelo’s fight against Kirkland last Saturday. “Canelo can make 154 with no problem. We have to keep in mind that Canelo had been out of the ring before this fight for nine months, and he did make the weight relatively easy. He looked strong, he looked in tremendous shape. So we have to go back to the drawing board and discuss the future plans and decide what weight he feels comfortable with. But eventually he is going to grow into a middleweight, and he is going to fight Triple G when the time is right. In a year and a half to two years down the road, Triple G-Canelo will surpass any kind of number and hype that last week’s fight [Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao], and they will guarantee action. The world knows that Triple G vs. Canelo will be a super mega fight,” De La Hoya said.

I think De La Hoya should match Canelo up against Golovkin if he can get past a fight against Miguel Cotto this year or next year. I can understand why De La Hoya wouldn’t want to put Canelo in with Golovkin if he gets knocked out by Cotto. But if Canelo gets past Cotto then the logical fighter to put him in with is Golovkin. Waiting two years to match Canelo in with Golovkin will appear that De La Hoya is waiting Golovkin out until he’s old enough for Canelo to beat him.

After the Cotto fight, Canelo won’t have a lot of options. He can fight Demetrius Andrade, the Charlo brothers, Joshua Clottey, Cornelius Bundrage, Carlos Molina or Michael Soro. Those aren’t big fights. Canelo would be wasting his time fighting them. There’s a small chance that Canelo could get fights against Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao, but that’s not likely unless Canelo is willing to fight at a catch-weight of 152 or lower. With the way Canelo is talking lately, I don’t think he’d be willing to do that. He’ll have no options for big fights after the Cotto fight other than Golovkin.



Comments are closed.