With one punch, Canelo Alvarez did what everybody hoped he would Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. He delivered a vicious knockout to Amir Khan in the sixth round of their middleweight championship fight to send the pro-Canelo crowd into ecstatic cheer.
Minutes later, with Khan still being treated by medical officials, the Mexican star Alvarez drew a louder cheer by telling the 16,500 fans in attendance what they wanted to hear.
Canelo confidently said, “I don’t fear anyone” when about asked a potential matchup against his mandated next opponent, knockout artist Gennady Golovkin, who was sitting ringside. Better known as Triple-G, Golovkin is undefeated and has knocked out opponents in 32 of his 35 victories.
Let’s hope Canelo was sincere. Of the possible matchups boxing has to offer, this is the most appealing. It’s just that the fight isn’t guaranteed to happen. It’s a long shot, actually.
The blame, despite his comment, falls squarely on Canelo.
He has 30 days to agree to a fight with Golovkin to defend his World Boxing Council championship or the WBC will take its belt back. But championships are meaningless in boxing, and Canelo won’t agree to a fight in which he feels at a disadvantage. Therein lies the problem with coordinating the fight.
The WBC middleweight division is contested at 160 pounds, which is closer to Golovkin’s walking-around weight than Alvarez’s. Saturday night's fight was at the catch-weight of 155 pounds. Some feel Canelo (47-1-1) is dodging Triple-G and only spoke out Saturday night because he got caught up in the heat of the moment, and will use the excuse of the weight as a potential reason to back out.
Canelo made weight Friday at exactly 155 pounds to face Khan, but he re-hydrated to well over 160 pounds. So, is the weight an issue?
Oscar De La Hoya, his promoter, says it isn’t.
“Gennady Golovkin, make sure you answer your phone tomorrow morning,” De La Hoya barked while looking across the arena for Golovkin, who had already departed. “We will call. We will call whoever deals with you.”
If the 25-year-old Alvarez truly is boxing’s next great big thing, receiving the torch from Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao after a decade of them dominating the sport, he can’t back down. He can’t make excuses. Canelo can’t follow the lead of Mayweather and Pacquiao. They avoided each other until late in their careers, and when they finally fought, the night failed to live up to the hype. It was one year ago when fans left the Strip with a bad taste in their mouth.
Now, because of one punch from Canelo — and, no, not the one that hit Khan — there’s a buzz in boxing circles. Few want to see Mayweather and Pacquiao fight again, which was speculated this week. Put Canelo in the ring against Triple-G and there won’t be a lack of action. It’s the one fight the average fan would want to see.
“How long did it take Manny and Floyd (to agree to a fight)? Six years?,” De La Hoya said. “Imagine if it takes me three years to make Canelo vs. Triple G?
“It’s not frustration. It’s motivating,” he continued. “As a promoter, you listen to the fans. You want to make the next super fight. Trust me, fans are going to fall in love with boxing for the very first time because of Canelo-Triple-G fight.”
Canelo is boxing’s unquestioned biggest draw; he reportedly did 900,000 pay-per-view buys last November against Miguel Cotto. That’s more than both Mayweather and Pacquiao drew last year in their “retirement” fights. Because of his popularity, Canelo feels entitled to dictate how much each fighter makes and what weight the fight will be contested at.
“Canelo is the superstar. There is no doubt who the man is in boxing,” De La Hoya said. “It’s like a game of poker. I have four aces and they probably have a pair of twos.”
Those aces, though, are pointless unless someone is willing to bet against them. Canelo will continue to move the boxing needle with or without fighting Golovkin. But, if you are a true competitor, you want to beat the best and become legendary.
If Canelo truly doesn’t fear anyone, like he said Saturday night, we’ll be talking about a September fight against Golovkin.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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