A hearing is set for April 10 to determine whether Canelo is an intentional cheat or the product of doped up Mexican beef?
As the entire boxing world knows already, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) slapped a ?temporary? suspension on Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez late last week for testing positive for clenbuterol on VADA tests conducted February 17 and 20. And although it took nearly three weeks between the preemptive confession issued by promoter Golden Boy and the move to take some sort action?something which was likely nudged forward by a raging Golovkin, who accused Canelo of being a cheat and the entire boxing world of enabling him?the commission did eventually make a decision. Well, it?s a kind of, sort of decision, anyway.
A hearing is set for April 10 to determine whether Canelo is an intentional cheat or the product of doped up Mexican beef. And, although the big powwow is most likely just a showbiz measure to once and for all clear cash cow Canelo and make way for a guilt-free Cinco de Mayo money orgy in Vegas, a few veteran boxing media people think that the commission may actually take some sort of action against the Mexican star. This writer doesn?t happen to be one of those who think the commission will do anything but pave the way for the high profile rematch, but it?s at least a possibility that something will actually happen to kill off the big fight.
In the unlikely event that the NSAC isn?t full of bean dip and surplus 99 cent franks from the Circus Circus food court, here?s what a world without Canelo-Triple G would look like:
What Happens to Triple G?
Golovkin would need to decide, right off the bat, whether he?ll be aiming for a ?big? fight to make up for losing a Canelo rematch or a smaller fight for less money to simply stay active until things get sorted out.
If people think that GGG will simply slide into a Billy Joe Saunders unification bout, they clearly don?t know the business of boxing. Getting WBO middleweight titlist Saunders to sign on to a Golovkin fight when he knows the leverage he has over a fight-desperate Team Golovkin will be quite the daunting task. Saunders is currently scheduled to face Martin Murray in June and could ditch that bout if a Golovkin fight materializes. But making a Saunders fight on relative short notice is going to force Team Golovkin to concede a nice, hefty cut of the money and, at some point, there may be an issue with risk vs. reward for the Kazakh KO artist.
Golovkin won?t fight rising middleweight presence Jermall Charlo or the talented 160 newcomer Demetrius Andrade next for the same reason Sergio Martinez didn?t fight Golovkin back when Golovkin first started making waves.
Could a return bout with Daniel Jacobs be contemplated for the summer as a Canelo substitute? It?s possible and it?s pretty likely Jacobs would ditch his own plans for another shot at Golovkin. But Team Golovkin has not spoken Jacobs? name since walking away with a close decision victory last March and probably would prefer not to revisit the task of dealing with the big, athletic New York native.
Another, less pleasing option (for the fans, at least), is for Golovkin to take a tune-up bout while waiting on big fight options. As a darling of the sanctioning bodies, there?s little doubt that they?d greenlight any number of possible ?ranked? opponents for Golovkin. Names like Sergiy Derevyanchenko, who is the IBF?s no. 1 contender and WBA ?regular? world champ Ryota Murata come to mind immediately, but it?s also possible he could dip one level below for a fight with the likes of Tommy Langford or Gary ?Spike? O?Sullivan.
Simply put, there aren?t many appealing options for Golovkin and none as lucrative as Canelo.
What Happens to Canelo?
No matter what happens at the April 10 hearing, Canelo?s career is permanently marked. The cult of hate around all things Canelo will strengthen and the na?ve notion the fighter once had of ?winning over? the critics will be dashed forever. His fan base probably won?t be too decimated and he?ll definitely still be able to make some very good money as a prizefighter, but, obviously, nothing will ever be the same again.
A ?guilty? Alvarez would possibly sit out a year and then decide if he wants to carry on with a dogged denial of guilt or come forward with a tearful confession and pledge of reform.
Either way, he?ll likely get a soft touch for his first fight ?back.? Gary ?Spike? O?Sullivan, who was already rumored to be in Canelo?s sights, would be ideal for Team Alvarez?s purposes.
What happens after that depends on a lot of factors. The rematch with Golovkin could happen eventually. A Daniel Jacobs fight would be a tough stylistic match-up, as would bouts with Charlo and Andrade. A shot at Billy Joe Saunders and the WBO strap is a possibility, but, of course, this is assuming Saunders is still champ by the time Alvarez gets back and plows through a ?tune-up.?
Ideally for Alvarez, his ?innocence? is affirmed on April 10 and the Golovkin bout goes through. But, no matter what, things absolutely don?t get easier or more pleasant for the Mexican fighter after this whole fiasco.
