With the Canelo Alvarez-Triple G rematch in jeopardy, Golovkin’s promoter says his fighter will compete on May 5th either way.
Boxing fans were very excited when the rematch between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin was finalized for May 5th in Las Vegas. But the fight hit a major roadblock recently when the Nevada State Athletic Commission decided to issue a temporary suspension to Alvarez over two failed drug tests for clenbuterol. He will have to go before the commission next month to defend himself against a further suspension and the delay or cancellation of the fight.
With that in mind, Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler says the show will go on for Triple G, Canelo or no Canelo. He’s still aiming to compete on May 5th, no matter who stands across from him. Loeffler spoke to ESPN’s Dan Rafael about it:
Promoter @TomLoeffler1 to me the other day: “Whatever the commission does, Gennady would still fight May 5 if Canelo is out. If for some reason it’s not against Canelo, we’ll figure out the best course of action at that time, but he is training to fight May 5.” #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) March 25, 2018
Rafael also noted that the PPV distributor for movie theaters for the event is taking the suspension threat seriously, and has stopped advertising the event. Even HBO didn’t mention the fight at all on last weekend’s broadcast, which was surprising. They have their reasons though:
I asked HBO spokesman @raysports on Sunday about the lack of #CaneloGGG2 promotion/calendar listing on Saturday’s @HBOboxing telecast. “When a fighter is temporarily suspended it’s best to pause on programming promotion and resume when all is settled,” he said. #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) March 25, 2018
The first bout between Alvarez and Golovkin in September went to a highly-disputed draw, with most seeing Golovkin as the winner. We’ll just have to wait until April 10th to find out whether Alvarez will be able to compete in the rematch.