Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan celebrates a second round TKO of Dominic Wade during his unified middleweight title fight at The Forum on April 23, 2016 in Inglewood, California. (Photo : Harry How/Getty Images)
Fans are expressing strong interest in the proposed Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin bout. However, veteran boxing insider Dan Rafael believes that the fight will not happen this year.
Previous reports indicated the boxing superstars will collide in September or October this year, but an ESPN insider said fans will have to wait a little bit longer. He said there are no ongoing talks since Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler is out of the country and has not sat down with Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya.
On the other hand, Canelo and De La Hoya are currently engaged in a legal battle with All Star Boxing. The Florida-based company claimed Alvarez violated the terms of the contract they signed in 2008. All Star Boxing said that the four-year deal between the company and Alvarez should have been extended but Canelo signed with Golden Boy.
Alvarez, who holds a 47-1-1 record with 33 knockout victories, was supposed to defend the World Boxing Council middleweight title to Golovkin, the mandatory challenger, later this year. However, instead of facing Golovkin, the Mexican boxing superstar opted to vacate the title after winning against Amir Khan in May.
Alvarez later clarified that the fight is not yet dead; but according to super middleweight contender Martin Murray, the truth is Alvarez does not want a piece of Golovkin. Murray said that Alvarez is not a true middleweight, which is why he is avoiding the highly anticipated matchup with the unbeaten world champion.
Murray is convinced if the fight eventually happens, Golovkin will shut Canelo down. The 33-year-old British boxing contender added there is no fighter in the middleweight division who is capable of beating Golovkin.
"If it's at 160, Golovkin will shut him down," Murray told Boxing Scene. "I don't think anybody will beat Golovkin at 160." Murray added that Golovkin will only get big and tough fights if he moves up to the super middleweight division.
Golovkin, who has a perfect 35-0 record with 32 knockout victories, is the reigning WBC, International Boxing Organization, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation middleweight champion. The 33-year-old Kazakh, who defeated Dominic Wade in April, has knocked out his last 22 opponents since 2008.
Watch some of Golovkin's knockout highlights below.
