By Dan Ambrose: Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez say his personal preference is for Mexican star Saul Canelo Alvarez to face Gennadiy Golovkin next in a trilogy fight. Gomez notes that their first 2 fights were very close, and action-packed from start to finish. Canelo and Golovkin are a great style match-up, and he wants to see them do it again.
Canelo doesn’t have a lot of great fight options at 160 and 168. Although there are a lot of guys Canelo can fight in those weight classes, none of them would be big ights on the level of the two GGG matches in the past.
These are the fighters that Canelo will be picking from for next match:
- Billy Joe Saunders
- Callum Smith
- Demetrius Andrade
- Gennadiy Golovkin
Saunders and Callum Smith are unknown fighters in the United States. The hardcore boxing fans know about them, but they’re not popular even with them. Andrade isn’t a popular figher either, and he has an ugly style.
If Gomez wants the third fight between the two stars to take place, he’ll need to convince Canelo to agree to it. He’s been steadfast in his refusal to fight Golovkin a third time, saying that it’s “not a challenge” for him.
Canelo doesn’t want to face Golovkin again
Considering that the boxing world saw the first fight as a robbery win for Canelo over GGG, and the second one a draw, it suggests that he doesn’t want to deal with another grueling fight. It’s easier for Canelo to fight guys like Sergey Kovalev rather than taking a risk of facing Golovkin again.
Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) still hasn’t said who he’ll be facing next. He just recently defeated WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev on November 2 on DAZN to become a four-division world champion. However, Canelo’s stock went down from that fight due to how shot Kovalev looked, and the fact that he still struggled.
While Canelo knockout Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) in the 11th round, he was being fought to a standstill by the old, over-the-hill 36-year-old for the entire fight. Canelo looked small, weak and slow for the 175-lb division. A lot of boxing fans complained that it was a STAGED fight with a predetermined winner.
Canelo wasn’t helped by Kovalev coming out after the fight, and saying that he was never going to be able to win the fight because he was drained from making weight. There was a 10-lb rehydration clause that the 36-year-old Kovalev had to deal with as well.
Gomez prefers Canelo vs. Golovkin 3
“Just look at his track record. Look at who he’s fought,” said Gomez about why Canelo Alvarez should be the #1 pound-for-pound fighter. “He’s fought the who’s who in boxing. Way back when we put him in with Carlos Baldomir when he was 19-years-old, if you’ve seen how many champions and former world champions he’s fought, it’s incredible.
“It’s unmatched. That’s ridiculous. That doesn’t exist,” said Gomez when asked about the view some boxing fans have about the Canelo vs. Sergey Kovalev fight being FiXED. “GGG,” said Gomez when asked who he wants to see Canelo fight.
“Those are two very good, close fights, and the fans love it because of the styles. It was all action, and it was back and forth. Both guys landed good punches. They’re just exciting fights, and they match up very well,” said Gomez.
You can understand why Gomez wants Canelo to fight Golovkin again. It’s the biggest money fight out there for him, and for Golden Boy. Canelo isn’t going to bring in a lot of money fighting Saunders, Callum or Andrade. He’s obviously going to stay at 175, and risk his neck against the true talents in the division.
If Canelo stays at light heavyweight, the fans will want him to fight IBF/WBC champion Artur Beterbiev or WBA champion Dmitry Bivol. Those are the guys that Canelo SHOULD have fought last November instead of the shot to pieces Kovalev. Canelo chose the old timer Kovalev over the incredibly dangerous Beterbiev and highly skilled Bivol.
It was obvious why Canelo hand-picked Kovalev, because he would have likely been schooled by Beterbiev and Bivol. That’s why boxing fans haven’t given Canelo credit for winning a world title at 175. He picked an old shot guy with a chin and stamina problem in Kovalev.
Wilder still needs to face Joshua and Ruiz – Gomez
“We worked with Deontay [Wilder] for 31 fights. It’s no secret that he’s a big puncher, and when you fight him, you always have to look out for that right hand,” said Gomez about WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. “I knew sooner or later, he was going to land a big punch, and what was going to happen was whether Luis Ortiz could take it or not. Obviously, Ortiz couldn’t take it. I think it was impressive.
“There’s a couple of guys he [Wilder] has to face still. He has to face [Anthony] Joshua, and he still has to face [Andy] Ruiz. If you look at the fight with Fury, the first fight, he was losing most of the fight. I think the knockdown really helped him there. But if he can get passed those three guys, of course, why not,” said Gomez.
The question Gomez was asked about WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder is whether he viewed him as the biggest puncher in the division. Gomez ignored that, and focused on Wilder needing to prove that he’s the #1 heavyweight by beating Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua. We could see those fights happen in the next year or two.
Wilder looked powerful in stopping Luis Ortiz in the 7th round last Saturday night in their rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Wilder was way behind on the scorecard when he stopped Ortiz with a right hand in the 7th.
Gomez predicts: Andy Ruiz knocks out Anthony Joshua
“I feel someone is going to get knocked out, and I’m leaning towards Ruiz,” said Gomez when asked if he thinks that the Joshua vs. Ruiz fight will go 12 rounds. “I just feel he’s got the style to beat him. What it is, I think, is the height difference. If he does what he did in the first fight, and comes in underneath those punches, he’ll be able to land his big bombs again.
“The same thing with Mike Tyson when he fought the bigger guys,” said Gomez about Tyson being able to take advantage of his limited height to beat taller fighters.
“That’s what made him so great. The same with Canelo. A lot of guys are taller than Canelo. You have to be careful with those guys, because they know how to come up from underneath to land their big punches. They’re not trying to land from outside from too far away. That’s why I give Ruiz the edge in the rematch,” said Gomez.
It’s going to be hard for IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. to knockout Joshua in the rematch on December 7th, because the British fighter is going to box him this time around. Joshua isn’t going to fight the same way as he did in the first contest, and he’ll try and limit the chances Ruiz has in landing his combinations.
