Canelo Alvarez will be getting a cool paycheck of $45 million for his trilogy fight against Gennadiy Golovkin in May 2021. Now don’t feel sorry for GGG because he’s getting a fat payday of $30 million.
A year ago, Canelo, 30, had little interest in fighting Golovkin, but his view has changed dramatically since. With the kind of money Canelo can make fighting Golovkin, it’s not surprising that he would eventually see the light and take the fight.
There’s still bad blood between Alvarez and GGG, but it’s not enough of a big deal for them not to meet for the sake of the green stuff.
Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) will be 39 by the time he steps inside the ring to face Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) for the third and possibly the final time next year.
Some fans believe GGG is just fighting for the paydays now, and his heart isn’t into it any longer. If that’s the reality of the situation, Golovkin could get knocked out by Alvarez.
Canelo can’t afford to put off GGG trilogy
GGG was almost stopped in his last fight against Sergiy Derevyanchenko last October in the fifth round. You can argue that if not for the referee getting in the way of Derevyanchenko after he hurt Golovkin with a body shot, he would have stopped him.
The fact that Golovkin is nearing the end of his career, it’s imperative that Canelo face him now before it’s too late. If Canelo puts off the third fight with Golovkin for too much longer, GGG will get beaten, and that’ll hurt interest from fans in seeing the two battle again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D49bvTftza4
The aging 38-year-old Golovkin is doing his part to make sure he doesn’t lose before facing Canelo next year. Golovkin has decided to meet his light-hitting IBF mandatory Kamil Szeremeta, even though the International Boxing Federation hasn’t ordered the fight.
What does that tell you? When a champion chooses to face their mandatory challenger BEFORE the battle has been ordered, it suggests that they view the fighter as being a soft touch. That fits the description of Szeremeta to the tee.
If Golovkin didn’t take the fight with Szeremeta, he would have fans encouraging him to face Derevyanchenko again or take on Jermall Charlo, and it appears that he wants nothing to do with either of them. You can’t blame GGG for not showing interest in fighting those guys at this point in his career because he’d likely lose to both.
Canelo-GGG is still not entirely sure for May 2021, because the match can’t take place without fans. Their first fight in 2017 generated a gate of $27 million, while their rematch in 2018 brought in a slightly smaller gate of $24 million.
You get the idea. GGG, Canelo and Golden Boy Promotions aren’t going to walk away from all the money and leave it on the table. So if the fan isn’t allowed back by next May, then GGG and Canelo will kick their fight to September.
Callum Smith wants $5 million to fight Canelo
When you compare the kind of dough that Canelo and Golovkin are getting to the $5 million offer given to Callum Smith to face Alvarez on September 12th, it’s shocking. Smith (27-0, 19 KOs) reportedly is asking for $6 million, but he’s not getting anywhere with Golden Boy.
Canelo needs an opponent for his September 12th fight, and WBA super middleweight champion Callum would perfect for the gig, as he’s British, and he fits with DAZN’s expansion into the UK. If Callum doesn’t get the fight, then John Ryder or Jason Quigley will be the ones that Golden Boy pick from for the September 12th fight for Alvarez.
Canelo’s next fight is about business more than sport, unfortunately. If this were about competition, Canelo would be fighting the likes of Jermall Charlo, David Benavidez, Caleb Plant, or Sergiy Derevyanchenko.