De La Hoya says GGG rematch with Canelo is priority, but Jacobs or Saunders are options

By Sean Jones: Oscar De La Hoya says he still hopes to make the rematch between Saul Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin for September 15, but if he can’t get the fight over the finish line, he’s going to look in another direction towards Daniel ‘Miracle Man’ Jacobs or WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders as options to face his Mexican star next.

Don’t let De La Hoya fool you. Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) is the one that Golden Boy Promotions wants and needs for Canelo (49-1-2, 34 KOs) to face on September 15 on the Mexican Independence Day holiday on HBO PPV. The reason for that is twofold. Golovkin brings much more money on HBO PPV than British fighter Saunders or Jacobs, and there’s the controversy of the previous Canelo-GGG fight last September that needs to be cleared up. That fight was ruled a 12 round draw in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the perception from the fans is the judges saved Canelo from a loss by giving him a draw that he didn’t deserve. In other words, Canelo was given a draw due to his popularity rather than what he actually did during the fight, which was very little after the first 2 rounds. Canelo was reeling from round 3 to 12.

“Everyone knows Vanes [Martirosyan] was a great fighter, but obviously he was over his head,” Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya said to the boxing media. ”But Golovkin did what he had to do, which was great, so I was very impressed. This is what we want to see.”

Golovkin destroyed replacement opponent Vanes Martirosyan by a 2nd round knockout on May 5. The only reason Golovkin fought Martirosyan is because Canelo tested positive twice for clenbuterol and then pulled out of the May 5 fight before he was given a 6-month suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler wanted to use Golden Boy fighter Jaime Munguia as the replacement for Canelo, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission didn’t agree to that. Munguia would have arguably been an even tougher opponent for GGG than Canelo, because the talented 21-year-old Mexican prospect punches harder, has better stamina and he’s more willing to stand and fight. It’s too bad Golovkin didn’t get Munguia, because that would have been a barnburner from start to finish on May 5. Martirosyan, 32, folded almost immediately after getting hurt from a hard left hook from Golovkin in the 2nd round. Martirosyan woke Golovkin up in round one after hitting him hard in the final seconds of the round with a left-right combination. The shots answered Golovkin, who immediately pounced on Martirosyan in round 2 and knocked him nearly senseless with a left to the head.

”Look, if that fight isn’t going to get signed, then I’m going to take to Daniel Jacobs. I’m going to talk to [Billy Joe] Saunders, and take it from there, but my priority is Triple G,” De La Hoya said about Canelo’s next fight in September. ”That’s the bottom line, because Canelo is fighting in September,” De La Hoya said.

The way that De La Hoya is talking, he makes it sound like he’s not sure whether the Canelo vs. Golovkin II rematch is going to take place. Hopefully, De La Hoya an Golden Boy aren’t looking to give GGG a lowball offer for the rematch. In the latest boxing news, the negotiations are said to be going well and are close to being done for the Canelo-Golovkin II rematch. If there’s a sticking point in the talks, you can bet it has to do with the venue for the fight. Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler wants the second fight to take at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas or Madison Square Garden in New York. Golden Boy wants the rematch to take place at the same venue as the first GGG-Canelo fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. I don’t believe that’s a good idea for Canelo or Golden Boy. I don’t think they get it. The 12 round draw that Canelo was given by the judges last September was viewed as a robbery of GGG. It’s in Canelo and Golden Boy’s best interest to go out of their way to show the boxing fans that there’s not going to be any funny business in the rematch. The best way to do that would be to take the rematch outside of Nevada to Texas or New York

De La Hoya has never shown interested in using Jacobs (34-2, 29 KOs) as an opponent for Canelo, but it’s likely that his recent lackluster performances against Maciej Sulecki and Luis Arias has changed his opinion. Jacobs looked barely better than Sulecki in defeating him by a close 12 round unanimous decision on April 28. Jacobs wouldn’t be an easy fight for the 5’9” Canelo due to his size, speed and punching power, but it would be a winnable one at least. If Jacobs is as hittable against Canelo as he was in the Sulecki fight, then he would be vulnerable.

The southpaw Saunders (26-0, 12 KOs) would difficult opponent for Canelo to fight because of his boxing ability and southpaw stance. I’m not sure that De La Hoya is serious about wanting to let Canelo fight Saunders, because he’s like Erislandy Lara 2.0. Canelo beat Lara by a controversial 12 round split decision in 2014. Saunders is more willing to let his hands go than Lara, so it would be a tougher fight for Canelo to try and win. Saunders would be a real threat to out-box Canelo and make him look even worse than Lara did. Canelo is too short to be fighting at middleweight, and Saunders is just the guy to expose that.

”I guess PBC part 2,” De La Hoya said when asked what he thinks of Matchroom Boxing USA promoter Eddie Hearn’s new $1 billion streaming deal with DAZN.

It sounds like De La Hoya doesn’t have a too favorable view of Hearn’s chances of success with his new venture. Hearn will likely sign a lot of top fighters from the U.S with all the money he has. Hearn can definitely be a threat to Golden Boy’s numbers if he’s able creates a large stable of top fighters in the U.S. Right now, Golden Boy is doing well because of Canelo. If his fortunes slide with a knockout loss to GGG in the rematch if he gets beaten by the likes of Jermall Charlo, Jacobs or Saunders, then it could be downhill for Golden Boy.