Golovkin still doubts Canelo will fight him in September

boxingnews24.com

By Dan Ambrose: Gennady Golovkin still firmly believes that Saul Canelo Alvarez WON’T be fighting him in September like what his promoters had planned. Golovkin thinks that he’s going to be pushed to the side in September so that Canelo can face his Plan-B, C or D. Golovkin says he’s tired of the talk from Canelo and his promoters at Golden Boy.

Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler is optimistic that the Canelo fight can take place in September, but that may require Golovkin accepting he current offer that was given to him recently.

Golden Boy president Eric Gomez also sounds confident the Golovkin vs. Canelo fight can get made for September. Hopefully the fight can get made, because it’s one that needs to be made for the sport of boxing. Canelo vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is a good business fight, but it’s not a great fight on paper.

The reason why is because Chavez Jr’s career has tanked since 2012. Chavez Jr. hasn’t been in the kind of shape for his fights, and he’s looked unspectacular n his fights. Now he’s been picked out by Golden Boy to fight Canelo. You have to wonder why.

Canelo and his promoters don’t appear to be interested in sweetening the offer judging by their recent comments last week. ‘The offer is on the table,’ is what Canelo kept saying when asked by the boxing media if he’ll be facing Golovkin in September.

When they say the Canelo fight could take place in September, Golovkin believes it could be pushed 2 years into the future while Canelo exhausts all the possible fights he can. Golovkin sees the following fighters potentially getting the shot with Canelo before he ever does: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. [x 2], Miguel Cotto [x 2], Billy Joe Saunders and Jermall Charlo.

Golovkin sounds like he’s tired of Golden Boy letting his fight with Canelo marinate if that’s what you want to call it. Golovkin doesn’t believe in letting fights marinate. He wants the best fight now. Golovkin is about to turn 35, and he doesn’t have a lot of years to wait on fighting the top guys to let the fights build. He needs those fights to take place now while there’s still interest.

“I don’t believe he’ll be ready for the next fight,” Golovkin said to the latimes.com. “He has a Plan B, C, D. Maybe [Jermall] Charlo at 160. Maybe [World Boxing Organization middleweight champion Billy Joe] Saunders. Maybe [Miguel] Cotto. Maybe a second fight with Chavez if this fight is close. There’s just too much talk. This year, he’s not ready, but next year … maybe.”

Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya has already tipped his hand with what he wants to do with Canelo in September by saying that if Canelo’s May 6th fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is an exciting one, then he’ll look to put them back in with one another. What De La Hoya didn’t say is if the Canelo vs. Chavez Jr. fight brings in a ton of PPV buys on HBO, he’ll make the rematch whether their May 6 fight is close or one-sided.

Matching Canelo against Chavez Jr. in back to back big money fights, it’s the equivalent of Golden Boy going to the bank and filling up with a lot of cash from the fight. What likely makes it such an appealing option to put Canelo in with Chavez Jr. in a rematch in September is the low risk involved for him. It’s not as if Golden Boy is putting Canelo in with Golovkin where he has a good chance of losing that fight by a knockout.

Saunders would be a possibility for Canelo if Golovkin doesn’t snatch him up first. There’s been talk that Golovkin could face Saunders on June 10 in a unification fight. The fact that Golovkin now believes that Saunders is a possibility for one of Canelo’s fights in 2017, it suggests that he’s not an option for his June fight.

I think Jermall Charlo is not someone that Golden Boy is likely going to let anywhere near Canelo. I would venture to guess that Jermall will never get a fight against Canelo. If Golden Boy hasn’t made a fight between Canelo and Jermall by now, I don’t think they’re going to ever do it. Jermall has the kind of punching power, size and speed that makes him someone that is not a good option for the Golden Boy star Canelo.

“His big minus is his promotion, with the ‘I’ll call you back, I’ll call you tomorrow,’ … it’s too much. Just tell me, ‘G, I need two years,’ but all this other talking … people see it and they all are saying, ‘Oh, please, stop.’ It’s like a bad commercial,” Golovkin said about Canelo.

Golovkin has been a professional for 10 years now. He should be used to fighters avoiding him. It shouldn’t be a surprise for Golovkin to have a hard time getting fights against top guys. The only thing Golovkin can do is to make sure Loeffler keeps him busy fighting as frequently as possible. The positive news about Daniel Jacobs choosing to fight him on March 18 is the fact that it’ll give him another good name to add to his resume.

Golovkin has already beaten David Lemieux, Curtis Stevens, Matthew Macklin, Daniel Geale and Kell Brook. Adding Jacobs’ name to his resume will be a big positive, because it will help his career in a big way. It might open doors for him. But then again, it might close doors to Golovkin also. Golovkin doesn’t need to scare away the top fighters in boxing by him doing a job on Jacobs.

Canelo may have a tough time getting past Chavez Jr., especially if the former WBC middleweight champion keeps the pressure on him and doesn’t let up like his last opponent Liam Smith. Canelo was having a lot of problems with Smith until the British fighter started to let up on him in the 8th and 9th rounds. Canelo was then able to land more of his counter punches, and eventually knock Smith out with a big shot.

If Golovkin doesn’t get the fight with Canelo in September, then he needs to stay calm and not complain too much about it. Golovkin has enough going for him career to where he doesn’t need Canelo to make him a star. Sure, it would be nice if Canelo were to fight Golovkin, but the Kazakhstan fighter needs to keep blazing his own trail.

If Canelo wants to put himself into the position where he’s just a career contender at 160 by avoiding Golovkin, then that’s his problem. As long as Golovkin is around, Canelo will need to come to him if he wants to show that he’s a major player a 160. Other than that, Canelo will remain as the catch-weight fighter that has fought most of the last 3 years of his career as a guy that fights at catch-weights rather than at the full weight for the middleweight division.

Golovkin needs to get through Jacobs in their fight on March 18. That’s the biggest fight of Golovkin’s career by far, although you can argue that David Lemieux was just as a dangerous a fight as the Jacobs match with be.