Mexican boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez and promoter Oscar de la Hoya are tired and at times irritated by constant criticism that Alvarez has been ducking Golovkin after consistently knocking out almost all of his opponents since turning pro in 2006.
What boxing fans do not appreciate is the fact that Alvarez is working on his weight to adjust to the 160 pounds middleweight limit that bout will be fought. This was the primary reason why Alvarez is facing Liam Smith at 154 light middleweight limit this Saturday. De la Hoya said Alvarez intends to do a catch weight fight this year before facing Golovkin in 2017. “We envision Canelo doing a third fight in 2016 either at or close to the middleweight limit and then a fight (in May) on Cinco De Mayo at 160 before facing Golovkin in the fall,” De La Hoya said. “I know Canelo-Golovkin is the biggest fight to make, the fighters know it’s the biggest fight to make and the fans know it’s the biggest fight to make. Everyone agreed that a fight for the middleweight championship should take place at the middleweight limit and once Canelo builds up to that weight, the fight will be on, he added. For his part, Alvarez said it is not his habit to run from any fight more so the Golovkin fight which every boxing fan wanted to see happening this year as originally and mutually agreed upon verbally by both promoters. “Look, people always say I’ve been running from that fight (with Golovkin),” Alvarez said. “I wanted to make it clear to people that I don’t run from anyone. I always fight the best. But the fight against Golovkin didn’t happen because of negotiations. They’re very difficult for such a big fight,” said Alvarez, who is now angling for his sixth win since his lone career loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in 2013. But there have been talks the weight issue is just one of the reasons why the fight isn’t happening this year. When the Alvarez-Golovkin fight negotiations was suspended to give way for the Alvarez Smith talks, De la Hoya did not disclose the real reason for the failed match but boxing insiders say Golovkin isn’t ripe for a major pay-per-view fight. While there is a big clamor for the fight to happen in the fall, the promoters may have realized that the match needs more marinating as De la Hoya had said earlier. Read more: The Alvarez-Smith title fight is taking place this Saturday night at the AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas. The promoters are expecting a huge crowd of over 40,000 people.
