By Dan Ambrose: WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) and IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) have fights that they need to get out of the way before they meet each other in a fight in the Fall, possibly in Texas at one of the large stadium.
The major question is whether Golovkin-Canelo will be fighting at the full 160lb weight for the middleweight division or at the 155lb catch-weight that Canelo has made his home for his last four fights.
Canelo has become something of an expert at draining down in weight to fight at 155lbs, despite the fact that he’s more than big enough to fight at the full weight for the middleweight division. Rumored to have been over 180lbs for his last fight against Miguel Cotto last November, it makes little sense for Canelo to try to force the fight against Golovkin at a catch-weight of 155lbs.
For Canelo, he would potentially take off 25 to 30 pounds of water weight to get down to 155lbs, and that just does not make any sense. Further, it is probably not too healthy for anyone to take off that kind of weight even for a short period. Golovkin is lighter than Canelo at 170lbs after he rehydrates for his fights, but it’s still not going to be easy for Golovkin to drain down in weight 15 pounds to get to the 155lbs if Canelo insists on the fight taking place at that weight.
Golovkin can obviously refuse to fight Canelo at 155lbs, and put it on the WBC to make a decision whether to strip Canelo due to him failing to fight Golovkin, his mandatory, at the correct weight for the division. However, the WBC can always meet as an organization and create a rule change that will enable Canelo to use catch-weights for all of his fights, not just for his voluntary defenses.
That is something that is entirely possible, and it would be a disappointment if that were to happen. If the WBC changes their rules to allow their champions to use catch-weights for ALL of their defenses, then other sanctioning bodies could adopt that rule change.
In theory, it would only help champions that are especially good at draining down in weight to fight at catch-weights. In that regard, it would make it easier for smaller champions to gain an edge over their bigger challengers. They could force them to boil down to the minimum weight for the different divisions they fight at.
That would obviously be a big chance for the sport, because we would see more and more champions using the catch-weights of their choosing to gain an advantage over their challengers. I am sure the past champions of old would be rolling over in their graves at what the sport of boxing has evolved into.
Canelo could also vacate his WBC title if Golovkin chooses not to fight him at the 155lb catch-weight. Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez has been saying that they just want the WBC 160lb title, and they would not have a problem fighting for the belt against another fighter if they need to. Nevertheless, I am sure that Golovkin would much prefer to fight Canelo for the WBC title because of the big payday that would be involved with that fight. It is more than just the payday.
It’s also the surge in popularity that Golovkin would receive if he were to get the fight against Canelo. If Golovkin can destroy Canelo and become the first fighter to knock him out, he would receive more boxing fans from the victory.
Canelo would still likely be the more popular fighter than Golovkin due to his huge built in fan base in the United States, but Golovkin would still pick up many new fans from the victory. I suspect that Golovkin would basically be hitting last of the top fighters willing to face him if he beats Canelo, because I do not believe that he’ll ever get a fight against Miguel Cotto, Peter Quillin or Daniel Jacobs. Those will be the only big names left in the middleweight division after Golovkin finishes up with Canelo. You can’t count guys like Andy Lee and Billy Joe Saunders as big names, because Lee was just beaten and Saunders is an unknown in the U.S.
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