Oscar De La Hoya: Golovkin Doesn’t Want Canelo Rematch, Could Look At Other Options
Many had tabbed a rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin to be a sure thing for September, but Oscar De La Hoya provided an update that would put the fight at risk.
De La Hoya spoke to Ring Magazine and said Golovkin is now scared of Alvarez and now Golden Boy Promotions will be looking at other options for Alvarez’s next fight. The plan for Golden Boy Promotions is to have Alvarez’s first fight after his six-month drug suspension ends on August 17.
“It’s clear to us that Golovkin doesn’t want to fight Canelo. It’s clear to us that after all the demands that they made, after Canelo having to do the hair follicle test, having to enroll in VADA, having to be tested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission randomly even before he was enrolled in VADA, it’s clear that GGG is afraid,” De La Hoya said.
De La Hoya said names such as Daniel Jacobs and Jermall Charlo, both guys who are mandatory challengers to Golovkin’s WBA and WBC titles, respectively, as possible opponents for Alvarez in case a rematch against Golovkin does not happen. Other names thrown by De La Hoya as replacement opponents are WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders and Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan. According to the Golden Boy Promotions CEO, Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler told him that “GGG doesn’t want to fight.”
If a fight between Alvarez and Golovkin is indeed dead for the moment, it does open up the possibility for Golovkin to go ahead and fight his IBF mandatory challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko. The IBF had recently ordered Golovkin to fight Derevyanchenko or the governing body will strip Golovkin of his IBF middleweight title, but will make a final ruling on the situation soon.
Alvarez and Golovkin were originally going to have a rematch from their first fight last year, a financial success for the sport, on May 5 until Golovkin withdrew from the fight before being suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for testing positive for traces of clembuterol.
