Saul Canelo Alvarez (Photo : Getty Images)
For boxing fans eagerly anticipating the big fight between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, this is not good news.
The best hope for fans to see the fight as soon as possible is the WBC rule for mandatory challengers. Canelo had the middleweight belt and GGG was the mandatory challenger and the fight was inevitable. WBC gave Alvarez a 15-day deadline to start negotiations with GGG's camp.
However, Alvarez did not want to be shoehorned to work under a deadline and instead decided to give up the belt. He did mention in his official statement that he "will fight and beat GGG" but he just doesn't want "artificial deadlines." The statement in full.
"After much consideration, today, I instructed my team at Golden Boy Promotions to continue negotiating a fight with Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin and to finalize a deal as quickly as possible. I also informed the WBC that I will vacate its title. For the entirety of my career, I have taken the fights that no one wanted because I fear no man. Never has that been more true than today. I will fight 'GGG,' and I will beat 'GGG' but I will not be forced into the ring by artificial deadlines. I am hopeful that by putting aside this ticking clock, the two teams can now negotiate this fight, and 'GGG' and I can get in the ring as soon as possible and give the fans the fight they want to see."
There were already nagging suspicions that Alvarez was trying to dodge the fight with Golovkin and this recent move does not help debunk that notion. Just to make sure, Golden Boy promotions also gave its statement.
"There is no denying that Canelo is the biggest star in the sport of boxing. He is eager to get in the ring with 'GGG' to show the world that he is also the best pound for pound fighter in the sport, but we won't negotiate under a forced deadline. Now that the WBC title is off the table, I am hopeful that 'GGG' and his promoter K2 Promotions will come to the table in good faith and get this deal done."
It seemed like they are transferring the blame to the other side, K2 Promotions, which handles the undefeated Kazakh fighter. In any case, with this development, Gennady "GGG" Golovkin is now the WBC Middleweight champion getting bumped up from being just the "interim" champion. Yet it's clear that the boxing world is more interested in getting the fight done.
Tim Loeffler of K2 Promotions also assured the public through USA Today that they want the fight. "It clearly was our position to make the fight,
"From their side, they made it clear when they told me they were going to vacate that it didn't mean Canelo didn't want the fight. They wanted to continue negotiations, but they didn't want the time pressure for the purse bid, which was coming up quickly next week," Loeffler said. "And I made it clear from our side that it didn't make any sense for the WBC to give any type of extensions or exceptions, which they didn't ask for."
He concluded: "I respect the way they handled it this way as opposed to dragging out the process. At the same time, I would have clearly preferred announcing the fight with Canelo today instead of saying that Gennady is the WBC champion."
With all these statements, is Canelo afraid of GGG as fans in boxing forums continue to insinuate? The answer can only be determined with the next move the Canelo camp makes. They have often made it very clear that they are the champions and should be able to call the shots with negotiations. There is a possibility that this move is in line with that stance.
One thing is clear though-there is still a "deadline" in the minds of boxing fans. There is only one way to dispel the perception that Canelo is, like most boxers, afraid of GGG, and that is to get in the ring with him.
