GGG plans to fight May 5 in case ‘Canelo’ bout canceled

Gennady Golovkin isn’t waiting for the Nevada Athletic Commission to make a final decision on Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s anti-doping violation. The “big drama show,” as Golovkin calls his boxing career, must go on.

Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter, requested a permit to promote a boxing event at MGM Grand Garden on May 5 in case the rematch with Alvarez that’s scheduled on the same day at T-Mobile Arena is canceled. The commission is expected to approve the request at its Thursday meeting.

“The ideal situation would be to fight Canelo, but for some reason that’s not available, we don’t want to lose that opportunity to fight,” Loeffler said.

“You can tell everyone to book their hotel rooms and not to cancel flight reservations if they want to see ‘Triple G’ in May.”

Last week, the NAC filed a formal complaint against Alvarez and is seeking a one-year suspension that won’t allow the Mexican boxer to fight anywhere in the United States. The commission will decide on Alvarez’s punishment during its monthly meeting on April 18.

Loeffler declined to mention possible opponents for Golovkin on Cinco de Mayo, but said it won’t be middleweight contender Daniel Jacobs or WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders.

Loeffler said ticket prices will be a lot more reasonable at the MGM Grand than the Alvarez fight at T-Mobile Arena, which was close to a 20,000-plus sellout before MGM Resorts International announced that refunds were available.

“GGG likes to stay active, and it’s unfortunate everything that happened with Canelo,” Loeffler said. “We’re still waiting for the final decision from the commission. We just don’t want to take any chances if Canelo is not available.

“Gennady is in the middle of his training camp. No sense that he gets punished if Canelo won’t be there.”

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