GGG and Canelo both flex on abandoning a rematch

Gennady Golovkin‘s promoter, Tom Loeffler, has now joined Canelo Alvarez‘s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, on posturing in their threats to abandon a rematch of their infamous draw from September 2017.

According to Ring Magazine, Loeffler claims that the rematch is still in discussions. However, the purse split is what things all boil down to, dragging on of the said GGG-Canelo rematch. And, now the former number of a 35% purse split, is simply no longer sufficient for GGG and his camp. It’s now 50% (or near 50%, one can argue), or they walk.

So now, the flexing begins. The WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, have set GGG’s mandatory as WBC “interim” middleweight champion, Jermall Charlo. Loeffler and GGG have already been in meetings with the IBF sanctioning body to negotiate a suitable course of action to satisfy their own mandatory challenger, Sergiy Derevyanchenko. GGG can’t, and won’t fight both.

Charlo is part of the Showtime/Al Haymon stable and there’s simply too much a headache in negotiating. There’s not enough money to make off of the fight in order to sort out the details of which network between HBO, GGG’s fighting home base, and Showtime, to determine who would host the broadcast. Derevyanchenko is simply an easier fight to make, as they both share the same network that they fight on. Thus, place your bets that is the fight that will happen in August.

Loeffler also eludes to potentially taking their act back across the pond, or maybe back to Las Vegas to challenge Billy Joe Saunders for unification of the Middleweight division. But, if Team GGG thinks negotiating with Canelo and Golden Boy promotions is tough, then they should already know negotiating terms with Saunders is no cakewalk, as well.

These very same reasons are also why Canelo Alvarez and Golden Boy’s pretending to move onto the same challengers are easier said than done. Canelo also fights for HBO, as does Billy Joe Saunders, so it sounds all good right? Nah. It’s not. BJS will have a laundry list of demands for Canelo and De La Hoya that they certainly won’t be willing to submit to. Saunders’ labeling of Canelo as a “drug cheat,” alone suggests that negotiations for a fight will be a chess match. A chess match filled with demanded drug tests and a location in the UK as Saunders is the champion. Too many hoops for De La Hoya to leap through, regardless of what he tells us.

You can also count Jermall Charlo out because Golden Boy is not going to do business with Al Haymon. One can certainly believe both parties aren’t to a point friendly enough with one another after a $300 Million lawsuit.

Japanese sensation Ryota Murata has been named dropped in the conversation, likely between both fighters to seek out. Murata is likely more in reach for Canelo to challenge because there is a pretty solid working relationship with Top Rank CEO and hall of fame boxing promoter, Bob Arum, with Golden Boy Promotions. GGG and Loeffler may be a little out of reach to solidify a fight there.

In the same breath, Bob Arum, one would think, would want to ease Murata into an American debut before he jumps the shark and throws an asset like Murata, and the whole country of Japan, into the fire with either of Middleweight’s premiere fighters. It just makes good business sense to get Murata to America first to generate buzz.

As things stand, we’re simply at a standstill. And, expect the masses to be disappointed and come to terms that there will be no match between Canelo and GGG in 2018. Once Canelo’s suspension is up, it will have been almost a year since he’s fought. Best case scenario is Canelo fights stable-mate, Spike O’Sullivan, GGG fights Derevyanchenko, for the IBF title, and the two promoters figure out at best a 55-45 purse for GGG vs Canelo II in November or December.

And that still likely won’t be sufficient for Canelo who is the current Main Event for Cinco De Mayo and Mexican Independence Day pay per views.

Maybe Canelo and De La Hoya can start their own Christmas in Mexico pay per view event and surprise us all.