GGG: Canelo didn’t deserve me to give him 5 or 7 percent, I lost respect for him

By Sean Jones: Gennady Golovkin says he was ready to walk away from the negotiations with Saul Canelo Alvarez if he didn’t get the 55-45 percentage that he was asking for. Golovkin eventually got what he wanted, but he says he lose respect for Canelo (49-1-2, 34 KOs) after him testing positive for clenbuterol twice and then dropping out of their previously scheduled May 5th rematch.

Golovkin thinks that Canelo was trying to pull a fast one on him with the clenbuterol. Canelo says he ate tainted beef that contained the substance, but Golovkin didn’t believe it. With Canelo in a weakened position in the negotiations because of his two positive tests for clenbuterol, Golovkin was willing to stand on his principles to get the 55-45 split that he was asking for. He’s still making less than Canelo, but he’s getting a far better deal in the rematch than he did for the first fight last September, which was a 70-30 split in Canelo’s favor.

Golovkin would have gotten only a slightly better 65-35 split for the May 5th fight. Golovkin’s management wasn’t as tough as they should have been in negotiating for the May 5th fight. Golovkin stepped in after Canelo two failed tests for clenbuterol and insisted that he get a better deal for the September rematch.

The two are now facing each other on September 15 in a rematch on HBO PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. GGG says he wanted a 50-50 deal, but he backed off from that by giving Canelo the larger split to accommodate his ego. But Golovkin wasn’t going to back off even further by giving Canelo and his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions the 57 1/2 to 42 ½ percent split that they craved. Golokin was willing to walk away and fight WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders on August 25.

It would have been interesting if Golden Boy balked at the deal in giving Golovkin the 55-45 split that he was asking for. The two would have moved on and taken their chances against other opposition in the middleweight division. Both fighters would have suffered though. Despite the 160 lb. weight class having several very good fighters only Canelo and GGG have the fan base to make a big money fight on HBO PPV. The rest of the fighters like Jermall Charlo, Demitrius Andrade, Billy Joe Saunders and Daniel Jacobs lack the fans to useful for Canelo and GGG.

Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) was in the position of power after Canelo appeared to lose their fight last September, and then later tested positive for clenbuterol last February. It wasn’t just GGG looking to exploit the situation. Golovkin genuinely was upset at Canelo for him testing positive for clenbuterol, and being given a controversial draw from their September 16 fight at the T-Mobile Arena.

“He didn’t deserve for me to give him 5 percent or 7 percent or less percentage,”Golovkin said to ESPN.com. “For my friends, yes, I would do that deal, but not for him. I lost a lot of respect for Canelo. He’s not boxing. I’m the champion. He needs to prove himself to me.”

Golovkin could have walked away and left Canelo in the position where his promoters at Golden Boy would need to find a suitable replacement opponent. They had mentioned wanting to match Canelo against the highly rated former WBA middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs. Most boxing fans don’t believe for a second that the backup plan for Canelo was Jacobs. The fight would be too dangerous for the 5’8” Canelo, who lacks the height and reach to fight at the upper levels of the middleweight division. Canelo is another David Lemieux type of middleweight. Lemieux, 5’9”, has a lot of punching power, but he lacks the height and reach to beat the taller middleweights like Golovkin, Billy Joe Saunders and

Jermall Charlo. Canelo is in the same boat. He’s too short for the middleweight division, and that was much was evident last September when he was unable to reach GGG when he was fighting on the outside. Judges’ scores didn’t reflect what took place in the fight, as they had Canelo fighting GGG to a standstill and that just wasn’t the case.

“It’s not hate but it’s bad blood because of what (Alvarez) put us through. There are some wrongs that need to be righted and they will be on the 15th,” Trainer Abel Sanchez said to ESPN.com.

For GGG to right those wrongs, he’s going to need to fight a lot different than he did in the first time around. The venue is Canelo’s at the T-Mobile Arena. Las Vegas is Canelo’s town, even though he lives in Mexico. Canelo fights in Las Vegas twice a year and his fans pack the T-Mobile each time, no matter what level of opponent he’s facing. Golvokin must understand that he’s probably not going to win a decision against Canelo unless he knocks him down three or four times. Knocking Canelo down just once or twice might not be enough for Golovkin to be given the decision.

It’s probably going to need to be so one-sided that there’s no chance at all of Canelo winning the fight. The best way for Golovkin to be sure of getting a victory is to take the Nevada judges out of the picture by knocking Canelo out. But for Golovkin to do that, he’s going to need to put his chin on the line by risking getting clipped himself. Canelo isn’t a big puncher at middleweight, but he does have excellent hand speed and he’s good at countering. If Golovkin doesn’t see one of Canelo’s shots coming, he could be hurt. However, that’s a risk that Golovkin is going to need to take if he wants to win the rematch. The best way to beat a fighter with poor stamina like Canelo is to push a fast pace for as long as possible and look to tire him out. When Golovkin stepped up the pace in the second half of the fight, Canelo lost power on his punches and began to slap. His form broke down entirely and he wasn’t able to compete. One of Golovkin’s best rounds in the fight was the 12th, when he took the fight to Canelo and had him stumbling in the final seconds. If Golovkin fights every round like he did in the 12th, Canelo won’t last more than three rounds. Canelo can’t fight a three minute round. He doesn’t have the cardio to do that, he’s not a big enough puncher to compete with Golovkin in a one-on-one battle.