Better Call Saúl, Álvarez that is!
Last May, the boxing world was treated to a horrific outing between Canelo Alvarez and Amir Khan. For whatever reason, Golden Boy Promotions felt the undersized Khan was a suitable opponent at 155 catch-weight, for the Ring magazine and lineal middleweight champion. However, a 6th round Canelo knockout became determined the outcome for him to retail belts.
Last month, Alvarez decide to vacate his WBC middleweight title, as Gennady Golovkin was awarded the title to officially become the brand’s middleweight champion. Contrary to many believing Canelo being scared of Triple G, after giving up his title; the real reason Alvarez decided to drop the belt, was to avoid a purse bid against the management of Golovkin, K2 Promotions.
This means De La Hoya will be able to ensure his client, Alvarez, receives a 55-45 split – in comparison to 70-30 split K2 Promotions was originally set to offer. So, instead of being tied up in a purse bid this summer, the verbal agreement certifies that their original agreement last December will be completed by next spring, to make a fall 2017 fight happen.
Each boxer is planning warm-up bouts, as Gennady will likely challenge Chris Eubank, Jr. (current British middleweight champion) to a bout, possibly this holiday season, with Canelo working to get up to 160-weight. Look for possible match-ups set up by HBO for Alvarez, as they will look to build the name and brand of Triple G with notable opponents he can likely defeat.
On Tuesday, Tom Loeffler came to @GoldenBoyBoxing's offices and we agreed that the mega fight between @canelo and GGG would occur next fall
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) June 22, 2016