‘Canelo’ Alvarez to reserve T-Mobile Arena for return in fall

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin haven’t settled on their money split, but the venue already could be decided.

Alvarez’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, made a formal request to reserve T-Mobile Arena on Sept. 15 for the Mexican superstar’s ring return, according to a source close to the situation.

The Nevada Athletic Commission is expected to approve the request at its monthly meeting Thursday. The item currently is not on the agenda.

Alvarez would be coming off a layoff after a controversial split draw against Golovkin nine months ago at T-Mobile Arena.

The two were scheduled to meet for a rematch May 5, but Alvarez withdrew from the bout after twice testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol. The commission suspended Alvarez six months, with the ban ending in August.

Last week, Golovkin’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, said they’re willing to come off their 50-50 purse split demand to make the megabout happen in September. Loeffler said he’s been speaking with Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez daily despite Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy’s CEO, saying the bout was off.

With Mexican Independence weekend only three months away, an official announcement on Alvarez’s future opponent soon could be coming.

More boxing: Follow all of our boxing coverage online at reviewjournal.com/boxing and @RJ_Sports on Twitter.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.