Angulo explains why Canelo chose Chavez Jr. instead of Golovkin

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By Dan Ambrose: Alfredo Angulo hints that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) lacks the heart, which is why he’s chosen to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1 32 KOs) in his next fight on May 6 instead of middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs). Angulo, who lost to Canelo by a 10th round knockout in March 2014, says the reason why Chavez Jr. getting the fight is because he doesn’t have the same boxing skills as Golovkin, and that he’ll likely struggle to make the 164.5lb catch-weight fight the fight on May 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Angulo says that Canelo and his promoters know that Chavez Jr. is going to struggle to make the weight in having to melt down to the catch-weight limit.

In looking at how big Chavez Jr. was today during the International press tour in Mexico City, Mexico, he appear to be in the low 190s at the very least. There’s still a lot of time for Chavez Jr. to take off the weight to face Canelo on May 6, but it’s still not going to be easy. Chavez Jr. looked a little on the thin side for him today. You can only imagine what his body is going to look like for him to melt off a possible 30 lbs. to make the 164.5 lb. catch-weight limit.

Obviously, Chavez Jr. won’t lose all the weight as far as muscle goes. He’ll likely trim down to around 178 like his strength coach Memo Heredia says, and then drain down the rest of the way in losing water weight. But losing a lot of weight to get to the 178 is still going to be hard for Chavez Jr., because he could wind up sacrificing muscle along with fat.

When asked by Villianfy why Canelo Alvarez was willing to fight Chavez Jr. at a catch-weight of 164 ½ pounds and not Gennady Golovkin at 160lbs, Angulo said, “Why? Because there’s something I’ve always said. There’s something fighters have. It’s something that trainers can’t teach you or give you, and that’s heart, and what hangs from all man. He [Canelo] doesn’t want to fight with Golovkin because Golovkin is a hard puncher. He’s a strong 160 pounds. He’s a 160 lbs. who doesn’t have problems making 160 lbs. With Chavez this is what they’re doing,” said Angulo.

Canelo hasn’t seem nearly as eager to face Golovkin as he has in fighting Chavez Jr. You can speculate why that is. Maybe Canelo isn’t as motivated in facing Golovkin because it’s not a big fight that would interest in his boxing fans or it could be something like Angulo is hinting about in talking about the heart.

All we know is Canelo vacated his WBC middleweight title last year when the World Boxing Council ordered him to fight Golovkin. While Canelo was still the WBC middleweight champion, the WBC let him face welterweight Amir Khan while Golovkin fought Dominic Wade in what were supposed to be interim fights before the two fought each other. But shortly after Canelo defeated Khan, he vacated his WBC title instead of fighting GGG. Golovkin then scooped up the title and he’s been the WBC champion ever since.

“Maybe Chavez doesn’t have the quality in boxing skills that Golovkin has,” said Angulo. “They know he’s going to struggle with the weight,” Angulo said about Chavez Jr. “They know he’s going to have to squeeze down. Those are what tactics are like in this job. They’re going to face Chavez and win a quantity of money while making him struggle with the weight instead of facing a Golovkin where maybe the quantity of money will be the same. It’s about two similar purses, but not against the quality of a Golovkin, a Golovkin who is a natural 160 lbs. who is not going to struggle to make 160 pounds unlike Chavez who will struggle. If Nacho [Beristain] dedicates the time and the needs that Chavez demands, I think it will be a fundamental point for him. Nacho has a lot of experience. I’ve had the pleasure to get to know him and work with him on occasion. Like I said, if he dedicates 100 percent, Julio Cesar Chavez will be in a good position,” said Angulo.

It seems pretty obvious that Chavez Jr. was selected by Golden Boy for Canelo is because he’s seen as an easier fight for the red-headed star. Fighting Golovkin could mean another one-sided loss for Canelo. Fighting Chavez Jr. is one in which Canelo would have a fairly substantial chance of winning if we are to go on how Chavez Jr. has looked since his loss to 2012. We saw brief glimpses of greatness from Chavez Jr. in the 12th round of his fight against Sergio Martinez and in his second fight with Brian Vera in March 2014.

Mostly, Chavez Jr. has looked inadequately trained and unmotivated in all of his fights since after his win over Andy Lee in 2012. You would have to assume that Golden Boy is expecting Chavez Jr. to lackadaisical and unmotivated for the Canelo fight, because their fighter is very ambitious and will be highly trained for the fight.

Golovkin might get a fight against Canelo eventually, but it will probably be with the advantage tilted heavily in the Mexican star’s favor. Canelo’s promoters at Golden Boy are saying that the fight will be at 160 without a handicap catch-weight, but that remains to be seen. With all the advantages that Canelo has for this fight, you would have to expect the fight tilted in his favor with some kind of handicap.

The purse split for the fight is the biggest hurdle that Golovkin will have to overcome if he wants the fight. He’s not going to likely get the money he deserves for the fight. If he wants it, he’s going to likely have to take the small money or else he probably won’t the fight. A weight penalty like the one for the Chavez Jr. fight won’t affect Golovkin, because he easily makes 160 for his fights Of course, if Golovkin has to come in lighter than 160 in order to give Canelo a handicap, then it could be a different story.