Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin reportedly agree to meet in fall 2017
The showdown boxing fans have been clamoring for between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin is on hold until next year.
The two camps have agreed to a fight in September 2017, according to multiple reports. The reports stated that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, representing Alvarez, and K2 Promotions managing director Tom Loeffler, representing Golovkin, met this week to finalize the deal.
“On Tuesday, Tom Loeffler came to the @GoldenBoyBoxing’s offices and we agreed that the mega fight between @Canelo and GGG would occur next fall,” De La Hoya tweeted.
On Tuesday, Tom Loeffler came to @GoldenBoyBoxing's offices and we agreed that the mega fight between @canelo and GGG would occur next fall
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) June 22, 2016
De La Hoya might have jumped the gun. There has been no oral agreement between the camps, according to K2 Promotions.
“It would be great if we had some binding agreement, but we don’t,” Loeffler told Yahoo Sports. “I did meet with Golden Boy, and they want to build the fight and shoot for the fall of 2017. From our side, we’re going to continue to try to put together the biggest fights for Gennady. Both sides want to make the (Alvarez-Golovkin) fight, but it is a mischaracterization to say there is a deal.”
Many expected the superstars to fight this September in a middleweight match, but for different reasons, they’ve decided to wait. Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 knockouts) is the lineal middleweight champion, but he doesn’t feel comfortable at the 160-pound weight class. The Mexican boxer is expected to take two to three fights within the next 15 months to prepare for the middleweight level.
Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) is the WBA/WBC/IBF champion at 160 pounds and has a 22-fight knockout streak, but he doesn’t have the star power Alvarez commands for generating pay-per-view buys . K2 Promotions will continue to build the Kazakhstan boxer’s name and possibly have him go on a fight world tour that could include Las Vegas, New York and England .
Golden Boy Promotions was approved by the Nevada Athletic Commission on Tuesday to have Alvarez fight at T-Mobile Arena on Sept. 17. The opponent is still to be determined.
Alvarez was the first boxer to win a match at T-Mobile Arena when he recorded a vicious knockout of Amir Khan on May 7.
Golovkin last stepped into the ring when he easily knocked out Dominic Wade at the Forum in April.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter: @gmanzano24
