By Dan Ambrose: Judging by some of the comments made recently by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, it looks like he has no interest at all in facing IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto seems be showing little interest in facing Golovkin as well. That’s why I think it’s best for Golovkin, his trainer Abel Sanchez and promoter Tom Loeffler to assume that the winner of the Cotto vs. Canelo fight on November 21st will soon after be vacating the WBC 160lb title rather than facing Golovkin.
I think it would be best for Loeffler and Golovkin to assume that will be the case. It’s better that they start planning their next fight already rather than them sitting around waiting for nothing and then winding up looking like saps when the winner of the Cotto-Canelo fight vacates the title the next day after their fight on 11/21 on HBO pay-per-view.
It’s not going to be enough that guys like Max Kellerman and Jim Lampley of HBO remind the boxing fans that Golovkin is waiting to see if he’ll get the winner of the Cotto vs. Canelo fight. I don’t think Cotto and Canelo care. Their fan base will continue to support them lovingly even if they never fight Golovkin. I think those guys could spend the remainder of their careers fighting guys like Alfredo Angulo, James Kirkland and Daniel Geale, and their fans will still purchase their fights on PPV.
It’s a much different case with Golovkin. He actually needs to produce and pick up solid wins for him to continue to keep growing in popularity. But as far as him getting the winner of the Cotto-Canelo fight, I don’t see it happening. That’s why Golovkin needs to move on already and put Cotto and Canelo out of his mind.
He’ll be getting the WBC title given to him as soon as the World Boxing Council strips the Cotto vs. Canelo winner for failing to fight him, or when they vacate the title. But in the meantime, Golovkin should be focusing on fighting the best possible opponent he can like Tureano Johnson.
That will be a really good fight for him, and it will help increase his popularity because Tureano Johnson is more than a handful. I think he would give Cotto and Canelo huge headaches if given the chance. Those guys obviously aren’t going to fight a guy like Johnson because he’s a tough out.
Golovkin and Loeffler can try and get the winner of the Andy Lee vs. Billy Joe Saunders fight. Their only chance of fighting the winner of that contest though is if Lee wins because Saunders has already made it known that he wants no part of Golovkin. Peter Quillin and Daniel Jacobs are off limits, so that’s not going to happen.
Golovkin needs to call out Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade and Erislandy Lara from the 154lb division. Those are the best fighters in that division. At super middleweight, Golovkin should try and get a fight against Badou Jack, James DeGale and Arthur Abraham if they’re willing to fight him at a catch-weight of 164.
Comments are closed.