As fight fans may have read yesterday, talks between current middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez and former king Gennady Golovkin have, for the time being at least, broken down. The sticking point, the bone of contention, is the venue that would play host to a third fight between the two rivals. Golovkin, quite understandably, does not want to fight Canelo in Las Vegas for a third time.
Canelo, who says he will fight again on September 14 with or without Triple-G as his dance partner, wants the third and final battle with GGG to be held in the big fight town that has, in the opinion of many fans, proven so beneficial to him on some occasions. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated revealed the break in talks, and he added how Golden Boy hope to resume talks later on today.
But should GGG cave? Would you if you were him? It’s not about the money any more – both GGG and Canelo have been paid a bundle after having signed up with DAZN – it’s about fairness. And Golovkin doesn’t feel he would get fair treatment if he fought Canelo in Vegas again. Most fans feel GGG clearly won the first fight between the two, yet he had to make do with a draw, and the rematch, again in Sin City, while closer, was also a fight a good deal of people had GGG winning at the conclusion of 12 engrossing rounds.
GGG cannot really be blamed for thinking, out aloud, how he cannot get a fair shake against the biggest star in the sport (barring the heavyweights, maybe) if he fights him in Las Vegas. But if Canelo, and Oscar De La Hoya, remain firm, unwilling to budge on the location of a third fight, then what? It would be a real shame if fans were robbed of a third fight between these two excellent fighters, and surely a compromise can be made.
GGG wants fight-three to take place in New York, at Madison Square Garden, and what’s wrong with that? Canelo had his own way in fights one and two, so why can’t a so-called neutral venue be used for the deciding fight? Come on, Canelo, play ball – at least a little.
If there is no compromise, who might Canelo and GGG fight next instead? Canelo has spoken of his desire to go up to light-heavyweight, but GGG seems to have no obvious plan-B. Golovkin-Canelo III is the fight the former champ wants, as do the fans. Let’s hope there are some reasonable negotiations going down later today.