Canelo vs. GGG 3 on May 4? T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas booked for 5/4

By Boxing News - 12/11/2018 - Comments

Image: Canelo vs. GGG 3 on May 4? T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas booked for 5/4

By Sean Jones: GGG Promotions Golden Boy Promotions have reportedly booked the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in a joint promotion for early 2019 on Cinco de Mayo on May 4, which has some boxing fans believing Saul Canelo Alvarez will be facing Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin in a trilogy fight on that date and venue. Neither promotion are saying that they have negotiated the Canelo vs. GGG trilogy fight, but it does make one think there we could seeing those two fight on that date.

It’s very important that the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas get announced now, so that the Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao don’t grab that date and venue in Las Vegas for May 4 on Cinco de Mayo. Mayweather likes to fight on Cinco de Mayo holiday, and that would be the best time for him to face Pacquiao in a rematch. Pacquiao is fighting on January 19 against Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner in Las Vegas. If Pacquiao wins that fight, it’s expected that Mayweather will want to take immediate advantage of the Filipino star’s surge in popularity by fighting him on May 4 on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Mayweather might still fight Pacquiao on that date, but one way of persuading him not to is by Golden Boy scheduling the Canelo vs. GGG trilogy fight for May 4.

If this date holds true, then it means Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) will not only be facing Canelo in a trilogy fight, but he’ll also be signing with DAZN. GGG met with Matchroom Boxing USA promoter Eddie Hearn and DAZN officials last weekend about potentially signing with them. GGG Promotions now booking the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a co-promotion with Golden Boy for May 4, 2019, it strongly suggests that the two will be fighting on that date.

Canelo Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) has a fight scheduled this Saturday night on December 15 against WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion Rocky Fielding (27-1, 15 KOs) on DAZN at Madison Square Garden in New York. Beyond that, Canelo doesn’t have a fight scheduled, but he does plan on fighting on Cinco de Mayo on May 4. The fact that Canelo’s promoters at Golden Boy and GGG Promotions have both booked the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 4, it would seem almost academic that Canelo and GGG will be fighting for a third time on that date. Canelo should have no problems beating Fielding, as he’s obviously been swell scouted out by Golden Boy Promotions and deemed a non-threat to the Mexican star.

Gennady, 36, doesn’t have a fight scheduled as of yet for 2019. Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez spoke recently about him returning to the ring from March to May of next year. May 4 fits perfectly for Triple G, as it’ll give him plenty of time to recover from his grueling rematch against Canelo Alvarez last September. Golovkin lost that fight by a 12 round majority decision. The punishment that Golovkin took in that fight makes it important that he gets plenty of rest before he fights again, be it Canelo or anyone. Golovkin deserves a long rest break after that fight.

Canelo didn’t take nearly as much punishment. Hence, he’s back in the ring this month on December 15 against the 31-year-old Fielding on DAZN. It’s important for Canelo to fight this month, considering that he only fought once in 2018 due to his 6-month suspension handed down by the Nevada State Athletic Commission following his positive test for the banned substance clenbuterol. In the same way that Canelo enjoy fighting on Cinco de Mayo holiday, Golovkin also likes to fight on that holiday weekend. With GGG’s style of fighting, which he calls the ‘Mexican style,’ he wants to be able to fight on that holiday to please his many Mexican boxing fans that support him. If both Canelo and GGG are going to fight on Cinco de Mayo next May, then the only thing that makes sense is for the two of them to face each other in a trilogy fight.

The first fight between Golovkin and Canelo in September 2017 also took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight was scored a controversial draw, but a lot of boxing fans thought GGG deserved the win. Canelo spent a lot of the time fighting on the ropes, moving his head, and going to his left to avoid punishment. In the rematch on September 15, Canelo made adjustments by going straight at GGG and slugging with him. Golovkin didn’t look like he was adequately prepared for that kind of fight, as he was backing up constantly and not staying his ground. GGG’s trainer Abel Sanchez wanted him to stand his ground, but he wouldn’t or couldn’t do it. It appeared that GGG didn’t understand the ramifications involved with him being seen backing up against Alvarez. Golovkin was smart to never let Canelo back him up against the ropes. GGG always stopped giving ground when he got to the center of the ring, but it still looked bad that he was letting the smaller fighter Canelo back him up at all. Had GGG kept Canelo trapped against the ropes for a slug-fest, it might have worked out better for him when it came to the scoring of the fight.

If Canelo takes a lot of punishment against the 6’1″ Fielding this Saturday, it could play into Golovkin’s hands. Canelo might not realize yet how powerful Fielding is. He’s a big puncher, who can hurt you and get you out of there fast. Even if Fielding doesn’t KO Canelo, he could wear him out with his heavy shots over the course of a 12 round fight. Canelo likes to move his head a lot, but he’s not going to be able to avoid Fielding’s punches for the entire 12 rounds, especially the body punches. Canelo is a wide body, and he’s not going to be able to move his torso to keep Fielding from hitting him to the midsection. Hopefully Canelo doesn’t play to the referee like he did in the first GGG fight in 2017. In that fight, Canelo was turning his back to GGG when he saw that he was able to get hit with body shots. The referee wasn’t aware of Canelo’s trick of his turning his back to GGG when he would throw to the body. If Canelo is forced to go 12 rounds against Fielding to get the win, he’s going to get beaten up some, and not be as sharp going into the trilogy fight with GGG.

The World Boxing Council hasn’t said anything yet about ordering Canelo to defend against his mandatory challenger Jermall Charlo (27-0, 21 KOs). Charlo has been the WBC mandatory for a year and half now since stopping Jorge Sebastian Heiland in the 4th round last year in July in their WBC 160 lb title eliminator. Charlo was ordered by the WBC to face Hugo Centeno Jr. last April for the interim WBC middleweight title, and he destroyed him in the 2nd round. Charlo didn’t complain about the WBC seemingly making him jump through another hoop to get the title shot that he’d already earned by beating Heiland in their WBC title eliminator last summer. The WBC wanted Golovkin to fight Charlo with the winner facing Canelo, but GGG decided not to take that fight. You can’t blame Golovkin for not taking the fight against Charlo, since there would be no way of guaranteeing that Canelo would fight the winner of that fight. GGG was Canelo’s WBC mandatory challenger in 2016, and the Mexican star vacated the belt rather than fight him.