The words were upbeat and positive. But Tom Loeffler sounded exhausted, drained. And now we might know why.
The dutiful manager of WBC/IBF/WBA middleweight king Gennady Golovkin could have already known what the world found out less than 24 hours later: that the scheduled May 5 rematch with lineal 160-pound titlist Canelo Alvarez was good as dead.
The Nevada Athletic Commission posted its official complaint against Canelo Thursday. And it wasn?t pretty. Pending an April 18 hearing, the commission recommended that Alvarez be suspended for a year after testing positive twice for Clenbuterol last month. Not only would that mean no May 5 fight. It would mean no Sept. 15 fight. And that affects more than just this event and poor GGG, whose team has been put through the ringer over the past two years by Canelo. It adversely affects the entire sport of boxing. BOXING CAREER EPITAPH WRITTEN?
There?s still hope for this rematch of the scrap that took place last Sept. 16. Although the commission said Alvarez was ?guilty of foul or unsportsmanlike conduct that was detrimental to a contest,? it appears he can still salvage this fight, if not his dignity. When he goes before the commission on April 18, the Los Angeles Times reports that a compelling argument from Canelo could convince commissioners to reduce his suspension by up to 50 percent. That would potentially clear him to fight on Sept. 15.
But, with confidence in Canelo waning, you have to wonder if this fight will ever happen. Or if Canelo will ever again be the monster attraction that he was prior to this mess he got himself into. In an instant, he has made himself the enemy, as fans scramble to get their money back from tickets, airlines and hotels. He has put his entire career into question. Much like Antonio Margarito did when he was found to have Plaster of Paris cemented to his handwraps in January 2009. But Margarito was never the superstar that Alvarez is. Canelo?s fall from grace could be as swift and brutal as his knockout of James Kirkland.
