(Photo credit: World Boxing Council) By Scott Gilfoid: IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) is letting it be known that he wants to pick up a couple of highly valued pelts to add to his collection in 2016. Golovkin wants the scalps from WBO 160lb champion Billy Joe Saunders (23-0, 12 KOs) in April 2016, and WBC champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) in September in the same year.
How about #GGGvsSaunder in April and #GGGvsCanelo in Sept sound? Gives Canelo some time to gain those 5 pounds 👊🏼
— Gennady Golovkin (@GGGBoxing) December 31, 2015
Getting either of the two champions Saunders and Canelo to agree to fight Golovkin may end up being like pulling teeth. I’m just saying. Saunders wants a ton of money to take the fight with GGG, and Canelo is talking about wanting a weight handicap to take the fight. Canelo, 25, wants Golovkin to dehydrate down to 155lbs to fight him at a catch-weight.
Golovkin is saying that Canelo has time in the next nine months to gain the five pounds that he needs to gain in order to fight him at the full weight for the middleweight division at 160lb.
In other words, Golovkin doesn’t want to weaken himself potentially by losing five pounds to drain down to 155lbs just so that can give Canelo a possible weight advantage over him. I mean, we do not even really know whether Canelo would be coming out ahead if he fights Golovkin at 155 rather than 160, because Canelo is the heavier fighter than Golovkin and it might be easy for Golovkin to make 155 and rehydrate up to his normal fighting weight of 170 pounds.
It is nice that Golovkin has high goals for himself in wanting to fight Saunders in April and Canelo in September, but I doubt that either fight happens. I hate to say it, but I see a lot of fear with those two fighters, Canelo and Saunders, and I think they would have to be dragged into the ring kicking and screaming in order to get them to fight Golovkin.
There is just too much for them to lose by facing Golovkin for them to take the fight with him. I mean, if Golovkin faces Saunders and Canelo, the outcome of those fights will likely be Golovkin scoring vicious knockouts. The negative part about that is that Canelo and Saunders will likely lose a ton of fans. I can picture their fans jumping ship left and right if/when those two fighters are eventually knocked out by Golovkin in 2016.
I think it would be a hasty abandoning of the Canelo and Saunders’ ships by the fans, and I do not see the fans coming back no matter how many fodder opponents those guys beat. Golden Boy Promotions and Saunders’ promoter can build Canelo and Saunders back up by putting them in with over-matched opposition, but I do not see it ever being enough for them to get back to where they are right now in terms of popularity.
It is one thing for those guys to lose a decision to a guy like Golovkin, but when you get obliterated by someone like him, you lose fans. That is just the way it is.
The way I see it, Golovkin won’t be fighting Saunders and Canelo in 2016, and he won’t be fighting them in 2017, 2018, 2019 or 2020. I don’t see either of those guys agreeing to fight Golovkin until he’s in his rocker and has a nice set of false teeth in mouth. Once Golovkin is using a cane and/or a walker to get around the ring, then I see Saunders and Canelo agreeing to fight him. With Canelo, I imagine that Golovkin will still need to give a weight handicap even then, which would be so, so sad.
Personally, I don’t understand why Saunders doesn’t just face Golovkin now and get it over with. I mean, it’s not as if Saunders is going to hold onto his WBO title for any length of time. As soon as a decent level contender gets a shot at Saunders, I see him losing his WBO strap. It really won’t take anyone really good to take Saunders’ title from him; just someone with the ability to fight aggressively for three minutes of every round. Obviously, Andy Lee wasn’t able to do that last month against Saunders, otherwise Lee would still have his WBO title.
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