‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin rematch set for May 5

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez refused to call it a rematch when asked if he wanted to face Gennady Golovkin again after the two boxers settled for a controversial split draw last year.

“This was a tie, there is no rematch. He didn’t win,” Alvarez told HBO’s Max Kellerman inside the T-Mobile Arena ring.

The 13th round finally has a date. Alvarez and Golovkin will meet for a second time on May 5 for an HBO pay-per-view bout, Golden Boy Promotions announced Monday.

Details regarding the venue and tickets weren’t announced for the Cinco de Mayo bout. Las Vegas and T-Mobile Arena are considered the frontrunner to land the fight again, but New York’s Madison Square Garden is expected to make a strong bid.

Nevada judge Adalaide Byrd’s 118-110 scorecard in favor of Alvarez stole the spotlight after the Sept. 16 fight. The two other judges had the bout much closer, with Dave Moretti scoring it for Golovkin, 115-113, and Don Trella having it a 114-114 draw.

Golovkin, 35, who made his Las Vegas debut during the first Alvarez bout, will defend his WBA/IBF/WBC middleweight titles. Alvarez, 27, will put his middleweight lineal title on the line.

“We had a great time in Las Vegas up until the judges’ scorecards were read,” said Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter.

Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, called Byrd a corrupt judge during the postfight news conference. Byrd hasn’t scored a title fight in Las Vegas since then.

The fighter from Kazakhstan has had multiple big fights in New York and fought at Madison Square Garden five times. Alvarez, from Mexico, has never fought in New York.

“One of the judges card we didn’t agree with he wasn’t from Nevada,” Loffler said about Trella, a judge from Connecticut. “So you can’t put a blanket statement on Nevada judges or the Nevada commission. It’s an individual thing, so that’s why there are three judges.

“Gennady isn’t concerned about where the fight takes place. He just needs a ring.”

Promo videos for the second bout were released Monday with both fighters predicting a knockout victory.

“I didn’t agree with some of the judges’ decisions in the first fight,” Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 knockouts) said in a press release. “This time there will be no doubt. I am leaving the ring as the middleweight champion of the world.”

“This time, Golovkin won’t have any excuses regarding the judges because I’m coming to knock him out,” Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) said.

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