The fight boxing fans have been waiting to see – a middleweight showdown between unbeaten KO artist Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, ranked by many as the two best boxers in the world — is inching closer to becoming a reality after recent talks between promoters for the two fighters.
A lot of things can still go wrong – for one thing, Golovkin must beat Daniel Jacobs at Madison Square Garden on March 18 and Alvarez has to get past Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on May 6 – but a source with knowledge of the negotiations between Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, representing Canelo, and Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter, told nysportsday “there’s a real possibility the fight will happen in September. It’s close enough that it seems realistic at this point.’’
According to the source, the only major sticking point is the purse split; Golden Boy is said to be insisting on being the sole promoter of the fight and paying Golovkin a flat fee while Golovkin’s side is asking for a percentage of the revenues, which could be astronomical. Another source told nysportsday that the Golovkin side has already offered to accept less than a 50-50 split of the proceeds.
“There are still some issues to be worked out,’’ the source said.
But the main point is, the two sides are talking after a year of evasions and false starts. As recently as May, Alvarez vacated his WBC version of the middleweight title in order to evade a deadline to fight Golovkin, fueling charges that he was ducking Golovkin.
“Negotiations are back on,’’ said the source.
The fight is proposed for sometime in September, and quite possibly at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas. The 100,000-seat home of the Dallas Cowboys has hosted several big fights, including an 8th round knockout by Canelo over little-known Englishman Liam Smith that drew 50,000 fans last September. The Los Angeles Times reported that de la Hoya and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had a “very productive’’ discussion on Friday about staging the Alvarez-Chavez Jr. fight there in May.
But even that fight, featuring two boxers of Mexican descent, one of whom is the son of a legendary former champion, would likely not compare to a matchup of Golovkin, known as Triple G, and Alvarez, a fight Loeffler called “the most anticipated fight in boxing right now.’’
Golovkin, a thunderous puncher whose intimidation factor has been compared to Mike Tyson’s in the 1980s, is unbeaten in 36 fights with 33 KOs. Alvarez is 48-1-1 with 34 KOs, his only loss coming by decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013. Golovkin’s fight against Jacobs, a Brooklyn native who is a compelling story since he is a cancer survivor, is expected to sell out Madison Square Garden.