Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith comment on Golovkin calling Canelo a drug cheat

By Boxing News - 03/23/2018 - Comments

Image: Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith comment on Golovkin calling Canelo a drug cheat

By Dan Ambrose: Stephen Smith and Max Kellerman of ESPN have widely different views about IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady ‘GGG” Golovkin calling Saul Canelo Alvarez a ‘drug cheat.’ Smith thinks Golovkin was totally out of line calling Canelo a drug cheat, as he feels he sullied his name with his remarks and put him in a no win situation for their rematch on May 5th and in his future fights.

Smith says that with Golovkin trashing him about his two positive drug tests for the performance enhancing drug clenbuterol, it means that Canelo’s future wins will be dismissed by the boxing fans, who will say that the only reason he won is because he was using PEDs. Smith thinks that Golovkin should have pulled out of his May 5th fight with Canelo if he’s so upset about him testing positive for PEDs.

Kellerman sees things different. He doesn’t think Golovkin hurt the promotion of his rematch with Canelo at all with his comments. Kellerman thinks that the trash talking Golovkin did will make his rematch with Canelo bigger, because the remarks have gotten a great deal of attention in the boxing world this week. Golovkin has shown a different side to his personality that was hidden before, and the fans seem to like it. Canelo’s promoters at Golden Boy don’t like the new Golovkin, but they’re not the ones that have to fight Canelo on May 5th. Golovkin is upset because he thinks Canelo used PEDs to gain an advantage over him, and it’s personal when fighters learn that their opponent has taken banned substances. Canelo says his positive test for clenbuterol came from eating contaminated meat. Golovkin doesn’t buy it, because he’s noticed how Canelo’s physique changed for their first fight from the way his body looked before. The combination of the physical change to Canelo’s body and the positive test for clenbuterol has Golovkin convinced that the Mexican star purposefully was using the drug. Golovkin is just stating his opinion.

“I don’t think that’s smart at all,” Stephen A. Smith said to ESPN about Golovkin calling Canelo a drug cheat. “I think it was quite foolish to be honest with you,and I’m a huge, huge fan of Triple G. Here’s the reality of the situation. As much as I love and respect GGG, the reality is Canelo Alvarez it the biggest star in boxing. I don’t care what anyone says. He’s the biggest star in boxing right now. He’s the money maker. With or without Triple G, he’s going to make money fighting folks. Triple G ad that issue before Canelo finally agreed to fight him. That’ why he stalked him for so long, waiting to fight the man, because Canelo was going to bring the fans. He was going to bring the dollars to the table, obviously with the help of the great job Golden Boy and Oscar De La Hoya has done,” Smith said.

Smith is basically saying that Canelo is popular, so because of that, Golovkin shouldn’t have called him a drug cheat after he tested positive twice for the banned substance clenbuterol. If Smith was the one fighting Canelo, and he tested positive while training for their fight, would he feel the same way and not be upset about it? It’s different when you’re the one that has to face someone that has tested positive. Golovkin could have kept his thoughts to himself about what he thought about Canelo’s positive tests for clenbuterol, but he chose instead to let the media know what his thoughts were on the subject. Obviously, Stephen A. Smith feels that it was wrong for Golovkin to voice his concerns about Canelo. He thinks Golovkin should have either kept his mouth shut or else pulled out of the fight if he was unhappy about Canelo testing positive. With the money that Golovkin is getting for the fight, he’s not about to pull out of the fight.

“I’m in no position to sit up here and attack what their arguments are,” Smith said. “If they saw punctures in Canelo Alvarez’s stomach or footage of him taking a needle, and swearing up and down that it wasn’t the Mexican meat that ultimately led to the positive test. That’s a different argument. They know more than I do. I want to see this fight. I don’t want to hear about no bad meat in Mexico. I know on Cinco de Mayo, I’m going to be in Las Vegas for that fight. I can’t miss that. I want to see the sequel. Triple G, you ain’t talking about backing out of the fight. You want to get paid for that fight,” Smith said.

So, Smith believes that if Golovkin is getting paid for the fight, he shouldn’t criticize Canelo for testing positive a banned drug. I don’t think that’s realistic to assume that Golovkin should keep his mouth shut about his opponent testing positive for a performance enhancing drug just because he’s getting paid for the fight. Would Canelo keep quiet if Golovkin tested positive for clenbuterol? I don’t know if he would. There’s a possibility that Canelo might be quiet about it. I there would be a good chance the fight would be canceled by Canelo’s promoters at Golden Boy. With the way a fighter’s career can be shortened or even ended when they take a bad beating in a fight, it’s risky for them to fight someone that tests positive for a PED in training camp. If the shoe was on the other foot and Golovkin was the one that tested positive for clenbuterol, Golden Boy might be fine with the fight going ahead as long as GGG was tested frequently during training camp to make sure he doesn’t have the drug in his system on the night of the fight. But if Golden Boy was worried that Golovkin might have cycled and given his body a physical boost that will last all the way through training camp and into the fight, then they might not be willing to let the fight take place.

”If I’m Canelo Alvarez and Golovkin swears up and down I’m a cheater, what’s to stop me from saying kick rocks, go find somebody else to fight,” Smith said. ”I don’t need your gibberish and throwing stuff out there to sully my name. If you’re calling me a cheater, then what do I have to win? If I fight you and knock you out, then I cheated. If I win by a decision, I cheated. I don’t even know if there’s a way that I can win. I’m a fan of Oscar De La Hoya. I love me some Canelo Alvarez, and I’m a huge fan of Triple G. But if you open your mouth and say this kind of stuff and you’re still going to fight him. If you’re still going to fight him, then what the hell did you open your mouth for,” Smith said about Golovkin.

Golovkin said what he felt when asked by the media about his thoughts on Canelo’s positive test for PEDs. Smith says he wants to see the fight and that he’s a fan of De La Hoya and that he “love me some Canelo.” I’m not sure if Smith is able to identity with what Golovkin is feeling right now about the situation, because he’s not able to see things from his perspective. Smith seems to be viewing it in a superficial manner as a boxing fan that wants to see one of his favorite fighters compete no matter what the circumstance. Golovkin is looking out for himself. He’s not keen on fighting someone he suspects has been using PEDs.

“Triple G is straight up and down,” Kellerman said to ESPN. “He’s not the typical guy to make stuff up. He’s going to tell you how he feels. If you ask him a question, he’s going to answer it honestly, and this is his honest assessment. Is it smart? I don’t think it’s an issue in terms of the fight itself. I don’t know if it’s an issue or smart. It’s an issue of the way he feels. When Floyd Mayweather was asked about Triple G, he said Triple G is straight up and down, no special effects, and he meant it to deride his style to explain that he could beat Triple G. Of course, he wasn’t ever going to fight him, and he hasn’t so far, but that’s what he meant. That was accurate. Triple G’s style in the ring is very straightforward. That’s why people like him. There’s nothing to hide, and his personality is that way too. If you ask him about Canelo, he’s going to tell you how he feels. Is it smart for him to do that? One of the issues in promoting a Triple G fight, as much as people appreciate his nice guy image and the way he treats fans and the straight forward approach to how he talks, it’s not always good for the gate. People like smack talk. People like controversy. People like to believe that fighters don’t like each other. It’s the reason why Floyd Mayweather was such a great self-promoter. It’s not because he tried to be that way. It’s because he showed a side of himself that was genuine. Triple G, here in his honesty, is helping to promote this fight into a bigger deal, because the sense will be these two guys now don’t like each other. The fans would like to see a little more bad blood. I think now you have it. That’s how it’s crossed over from just s super fight to a grudge match, which is even better,” Kellerman said.

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