Promoter Eddie Hearn laid out a mini-tournament that would lead to a third fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin.
Canelo Alvarez’s trainer recently said that he expects the Mexican star to fight twice before the end of the year, in September and again in December. Eddie Hearn, who co-promotes Gennadiy Golovkin, likes the sound of that.
Hearn laid out a mini-tournament on the “Boxing with Chris Mannix” podcast that would lead to the fight many fans want to see.
According to Hearn’s plan, Golovkin would defend his middleweight title against Kamil Szeremeta in August and Alvarez would fight super middleweight beltholder Billy Joe Saunders in September. The winners – presumably Golovkin and Alvarez – would then meet in December, although the parties would have to settle upon a weight.
Of course, it’s not that simple.
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Alvarez was tentatively set to challenge Saunders on May 2 but the fight was postponed amid the coronavirus threat and there are no guarantees that Saunders will get the fight in September. Eddy Reynoso, Alvarez’s trainer, said a number of fighters are under consideration.
If Alvarez and Golovkin win their interim fights, then the rest could fall into place.
DAZN, which paid big money under the assumption that Alvarez and Golovkin would fight a third time, certainly wants the fight. Alvarez, who once said he was finished with Triple-G, has come around to the idea of meeting his rival again. Golovkin would like one more chance to defeat Alvarez. They drew in their first fight and Alvarez won the rematch by decision.
“The Canelo fight is the absolute defining moment of Gennadiy’s career,” Hearn told Mannix. “He has to get that right. He has to win that fight. But there are obligations that are going to need to be taken care of, but everybody needs to be moving in the right direction to provide the best [fights possible].”
And, obviously, organizers would want a live audience at Alvarez-Golovkin III because of a potentially huge gate. That could be possible in December, although everyone is at the mercy of the pandemic.
Then there’s the weight. Alvarez is likely to fight a 168-pound titleholder in September, whether that’s Saunders, Callum Smith, Caleb Plant or David Benavidez. Golovkin will fight Szeremeta at 160. That would have to be worked out.
Golovkin might’ve been in play as a possible opponent for Alvarez in September, but he made it clear he wanted to defend his title against his mandatory challenger, Szeremeta, first.
Triple-G wanted the third fight with Alvarez this past September and then, when that didn’t happen, on that May 2 date. When Alvarez wouldn’t bite either time, Golovkin went a different direction.
“They actually avoided this fight in September,” Golovkin told Sports Illustrated. “They didn’t want to fight in May of 2020. So I went my way. I have my own career, and I figured: How long should I wait?”
Said Hearn: “[Golovkin] already had a signed contract with Szeremeta. He already feels he’s been messed around once so he got a new plan, signed that and now he’s told, ‘No, you have to fight Canelo in September.’”
If Hearn’s plan pans out, it could finally happen before the end of the year.
