By Jeff Aronow: Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez are tentatively set to meet for their trilogy fight on the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo on May 21, 2021. Canelo (53-1-2, 36 K.O.s) will be getting $45 million, while Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 K.O.s) will be receiving $30 million, according to Mike Coppinger.
Both fighters need to win their preliminary bouts in 2020 for them to meet up in the first had of 2021. Golovkin will be fighting Kamil Szeremeta in September or October in a mandatory title defense for his IBF 160lb belt. Canelo is potentially facing WBA Super World 168-lb champion, Callum Smith. DAZN and Canelo both want Callum.
Canelo’s potential fight with Callum Smith, 30, would be a part of DAZN’s global expansion into the U.K., which is why it’s CRUCIAL for Golden Boy Promotions to get this fight made. In other words, Alvarez, 30, needs a British fighter to help with DAZN’s expansion into the United Kingdom. It won’t work well for DAZN if Canelo chooses a non-Brit.
Golden Boy needs Callum Smith for DAZN global launch in the U.K.
Golden Boy needs Callum Smith for DAZN global launch in the U.K.If Callum doesn’t agree to accept the $5 million, which some fans see as a lowball offer, then Golden Boy would need to sign British fighter John Ryder or Jason Quigley.
Those would be less palatable options for Canelo than Callum, though being that Ryder and Quigley aren’t accessible in the U.K., don’t hold world titles, and they were both recently beaten.
On top of that, the casual American boxing fans have no idea who Quigley or Ryder is, and they’re not going to be excited about that fight. The hardcore American fans are familiar with Callum, Ryder, and Quigley.
Of those three, the U.S. fans would put up with Canelo fighting Callum. They wouldn’t love that fight, but they would endure it.
One problem with Canelo fighting Callum is the Sky problem. They’ve been televising Callum Smith’s fights, as he’s one of Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom stable guys. For the Canelo-Smith fight to get made, a broadcast deal would need to be made between Sky Boxing and DAZN for Alvarez’s September 12 fight.
DAZN may not realize it, but they’re likely won’t be a lot of new subscribers coming in if Canelo faces Callum, Quigley, or Ryder. There just won’t. Reading the comments from U.S. fans on social media, they’re not excited at the idea of Canelo fighting Smith, who doesn’t have much of a personality, and he has a weak resume.
U.S. fans not excited by Canelo vs. Smith
As long as DAZN is willing to sacrifice losing out on a lot of subscribers in the U.S. if Canelo faces Callum, then it should be alright if that fight takes place. Hopefully or DAZN’s sake, they’re not misjudging the interest or lack thereof in a match between Canelo and the 6’2″ Smith.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ju5vDQmbP4&t=18s
Callum doesn’t show much emotion when he talks, and it’s going to be very, very hard to get the U.S. boxing fans excited at seeing Canelo take this fight.
One thing Callum has going for him is his promoter Eddie Hearn is a nonstop talker. He’ll assume the job of doing most of the interviews to try and motivate reluctant Americans to reactivate their DAZN accounts, which they have suspended due to the lack of boxing action being shown by the platform for the last four months.
Assuming Hearn can do the heavy lifting to get fans interested in paying to watch Canelo fight Callum, then it might bring in some subscribers for DAZN in the States.
The way Canelo can bring in the subscribers is by fighting Golovkin, Jermall Charlo, Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Dmitry Bivol, Caleb Plant, and Artur Beterbiev. But those are guys that would want to be paid well, and he can’t fight them behind closed doors without boxing fans present.
Smith holding firm at $6 million for Canelo match
Golden Boy is still trying to negotiate the Canelo-Smith fight, however. Smith wanted $6 million, but Golden Boy is offering $5 million. Assuming that one of the two gives in, we could see Canelo facing the unbeaten Callum (27-0, 19 K.O.s) on September 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada, or at the Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California.
The reason Canelo-GGG 3 is not official is that they’ll need crowds to be allowed back into boxing events by May, and it’s still up in the air whether that’ll happen.
Ultimately, whether Canelo can face Golovkin next May in front of a live crowd rests on a vaccine being produced and made available to the fans. The testing is still being done on the vaccines.
Golovkin will be 39-years-old by the time he faces Canelo on Cinco de Mayo, and he’s starting to show his age.
“Canelo and GGG agreed to a third fight months ago. Per sources, Alvarez will earn about $45 million, GGG $30M. Rematch generated over $27 million at the gate so that the trilogy bout won’t happen without fans. We could be looking at May 2021,” said @MikeCoppinger.
With that kind of money Canelo and GGG are getting, you have to wonder why Golden Boy can’t come up with $6 million to meet Callum’s asking price for the September 12 fight?
Gate money needed for Canelo vs. Golovkin 3
Golden Boy will need the gate money for the Canel-GGG III fight to take place next May, as they cannot afford to place this fight behind closed doors. With the enormous purses that Canelo and GGG are getting, it’s crucial for live fans to be present.
The second Canelo vs. Golovkin contest in 2018 brought in $27 million at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Canelo beat Golovkin by a controversial 12 round decision, which many people disagreed with.
If needed, Canelo vs. Golovkin 3 can be moved to September 2021 if crowds still aren’t allowed back into boxing events by May 2021. Golden Boy is cutting it close by scheduling the third fight between the two stars for May 2021 because that assumed that the vaccine will be out by then. Even if it is, many people will be slow in taking it.
Yearly, only a small fraction of Americans elect to get their flu shots, even though it’s affordable and accessible.