Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin Doubleheader Advocated by WBC President
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman wants to see the governing body's new middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and WBA, IBO and IBF titleholder Gennady “GGG” Golovkin on the same bill on Cinco De Mayo weekend 2016, but not necessarily fighting each other yet.
Canelo’s impressive win over Miguel Cotto last weekend means he’ll have to face a mandatory challenge for the WBC strap from the unbeaten Kazakh, who dismantled David Lemieux in his previous outing. However, Sulaiman thinks it’s important to build momentum for both fighters prior to pitting them against one another, per Jose Luis Camarillo of BoxingScene.com:
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"There is no disadvantage [in doing a doubleheader]. The subject [of making the fight] is in the hands of the promoters, Golden Boy Promotions and K2.
They already know what the whole situation, especially if they reach an agreement where everyone makes a defense [prior to their mandatory fight] and use that as a leading into making this a much bigger event, with greater benefits for them—as was the case for Canelo against (Miguel) Cotto, where they did quite a job to maximize the event.
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There’s already a lot of clamour amongst boxing fans to see these two square off. Both fighters are entertaining in the way they apply themselves in bouts, with Canelo’s ability to string combinations together and GGG’s raw power marrying up for what should be a brilliant bout.
In the aftermath of his latest victory, Canelo confirmed he’s “ready” to fight the Kazakh, per Dan Rafael of ESPN. Additionally, Golovkin has also made it clear he’s happy for the Mexican to be his next opponent:
Canelo’s win over a gnarly Cotto has cemented his status as the biggest star in the sport following the retirement of Floyd Mayweather. Not only is he an exciting fighter, he’s still young, has momentum behind him and is hugely popular with fans in his native Mexico and beyond.
Golovkin is a force to be reckoned with, though. GGG throws punches with such accuracy and so smoothly, but his jab has decimated opponents in the past and his uppercut lands like a sledgehammer. Although Alvarez has proven himself to be durable previously, he won’t have faced anyone who hits as hard as the Kazakh.
Indeed, British cruiserweight fighter Tony Bellew thinks the best decision for the Mexican will be to push this fight back, purely due to the fact Golovkin would take the title from him:
A fight as big as this will take a long time to sort out, too, with various foundations to be laid and decisions—especially over the weight the bout will take place at—to be made.
Despite the boisterous talk coming out of both camps, there’s no rush for this to go ahead, either. As aforementioned, Canelo is in the early stages of his career, while the manner in which Golovkin finishes fights quickly, with 31 of 34 professional wins coming inside the distance, means he’s still very fresh, despite being 33.
A doubleheader defence would give fans around the globe the chance to watch these two in action on the same night, thus spiking interest in the pair. If they were both to win in style, then a possible fight further down the line in September 2016, most likely on Mexican Independence Day weekend, would surely be one of the most lucrative clashes in the sport’s history.
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