By Jim Dower: Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) will be facing contender Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan (27-2, 19 KOs) on May 7 if Golden Boy Promotions star Saul Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) is suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, according to ZonaESPN.
Golovkin was reportedly offered fights against Demetrius Andrade, Gary o’Sullivan, Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, Billy Joe Saunders and Sergiy Derevyanchenko. As far as talent-wise, O’Sullivan is arguably the weakest of the group by far. He’s a bottom fringe contender, who has failed in the past on the 2 occasions that he stepped up against world class opposition against Chris Eubank Jr. and Billy Joe Saunders.
You can’t criticize Golovkin for not taking the fight with Derevyanchenko, because he’s far too good for Triple G to be facing on just 3 weeks’ notice, which is when he’ll find out for sure whether Canelo will be suspended or not on April 18. Derevyanchenko is the type of fighter that would have a good chance of beating any of the middleweights in the division, including Daniel Jacobs, Jermall Charlo, Billy Joe Saunders and Canelo. Golovkin needs a lot more than three weeks to get ready for a fight against Derevyanchenko.
Demetrius Andrade had pushed hard to be Golovkin’s replacement opponent for May 5. What may have hurt Andrade’s chances of getting the fight, besides him being a southpaw, was how boring his recent fight was against Alantez Fox on HBO. That was 12 rounds of pure boredom. Andrade never stepped on the gas to get Fox out of there, and it ended up being about as interesting as watching paint dry in the afternoon sun.
Canelo is meeting with the Nevada Commission on April 18 at their next hearing for his two failed tests for the banned substance clenbuterol. Canelo has already been handed down a temporary suspension by the Nevada Commission, which will be up on April 18. If the suspension is extended, then Canelo could be out boxing for 6 to 12 months. There are some boxing fans who feel that Canelo should be given a 3-year ban.
O’Sullivan’s best wins have come against Antoine Douglas, Nick Quigley, Jamie Barboza, Matthew Hall and Anthony Fitzgerald. O’Sullivan has basically done well against journeymen and domestic level opposition. O’Sullivan’s 7th round knockout win over Douglas last December was by far his best win of his career. O’Sullivan looked shaky in the early rounds in taking a lot of shots from Douglas, but once he got warmed up, he knocked him down in the 7th to get the stoppage.
Canelo, 27, reportedly had planned on fighting O’Sullivan in September after facing Golovkin on May 5th. Since the May 5th fight now looks like it’s not going to happen, Golovkin is snatching O’Sullivan to use as his replacement opponent on that date.
There’s a possibility Golovkin vs. O’Sullivan will still be televised on HBO PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s going to be hard to sell Golovkin fighting against O’Sullivan, because he’s from the UK, and he doesn’t have a huge fan base in the U.S.
With O’Sullivan now known as Golovkin’s replacement opponent for May 5th, one can hope that the Nevada Commission doesn’t suspend Canelo.