It's hard to imagine Saul "Canelo" Alvarez as being afraid of anyone, but Triple G is another monster altogether.
Canelo is deep in training for one of his biggest fights against WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto on November 21 in what could be the fight of the year, and it is rightful that he should be focused.
"I know there has been a lot of talk about a fight against Golovkin, but I'm just thinking about Cotto," Canelo responded to ESPN Deportes via BoxingScene. "After that we'll see what happens in my career but right now my focus is on November 21 and nothing else."
However, speculation thrives in boxing and since Canelo is favored to win, people anticipate the next fight between him and Golovkin. He has already brushed off a fight with the Kazakh fighter at the standard middleweight of 160 lbs.
"If he wants to fight with me, let him come down to 155 and I'll fight him whatever day he wants," he told Fight Hype. "At this moment, my body isn't ready for 160 pounds. Maybe 1 or 2 more years I'll be ready for 160, I don't know, but I'd be delighted to fight someone like Gennady. He's a great fighter and I think it would be a great fight. I'd be delighted to get him in a fight."
This has led to a lot of criticism and accusations that he is just the next boxer in a long line of fighters who are running scared of the "god of war" GGG, as Boxing News 24 deftly explains.
"Believe it or not, the 25-year-old Canelo feels that he's not a true 160lb fighter yet, even though he rehydrates to as high as 175lbs for his fights at 155lbs," BN24 opined. "That's 15 pounds over the 160lb middleweight limit. It's very peculiar that Canelo doesn't want to fight Golovkin at 160, because Canelo actually weighs more than Golovkin after he rehydrates."
Even Oscar de La Hoya's rationale that his ward only wants the title would not hold water. The Golden Boy told LA Times:
"Canelo is fighting Cotto because he wants that world title, but he's a junior-middleweight, not a middleweight."
But if he refuses to fight GGG, already the mandatory challenger, Canelo will be stripped of the WBC title as per their rules.
Perhaps after the Cotto fight, assuming Canelo wins, there will be more pressure on the Mexican boxer and he would eventually relent.