It was always going to be a big return fight, ever since the drawn verdict that pleased nobody was announced in Las Vegas last September. But now, in light of all that has transpired since, a rematch between middleweight rivals Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez will be oh so much bigger – if it ever happens.
World champion Golovkin says he still wants the rematch, so as to prove once and for all that he is the better man (in and out of the ring). While Canelo, once his current suspension from the sport is up, will almost certainly want one fight and one fight only: the return with the man who has called him, amongst other things, “a bad man.”
Many fans felt, back when Alvarez was first busted for clenbuterol being found in his system, that the return with GGG would still happen as scheduled on May 5 (Golovkin now of course facing late sub, the hugely motivated Vanes Martirosyan); that money would talk, that the fight was so big – that Canelo was so big (no pun intended) – that it simply had to happen.
Quite refreshingly, we have witnessed fair play refusing to take a back seat to hard cash, the fight and with it many millions of dollars being put aside. But for how long? Once he’s paid his penalty, served his time, Canelo will be free to fight again. This is when we will see the rematch, a rematch the world still wants to see (most of it anyway). The promotion will be enormous, the hype incredible. Everyone will have something to say about the fight: from whether it it should be taking place, to who wins, to who actually deserves to win.
Indeed, we all know who will be donned as the bad guy when the rematch rolls around. How Canelo’s once passionate and adoring fans will react when next he climbs through the ropes will prove fascinating; even more so when he fights GGG again. Will Canelo box a tune-up upon his ring return? Should he do so?
How will Canelo, once the darling, the hero of Mexican boxing, react if he is booed and jeered – by his countrymen at that? Whether the rematch takes place this September, on Mexican Independence Day, or next year some time (and it will happen one day, for sure) Golovkin-Alvarez II will be one hot ticket.
Whether the critics like it or not, both fighters will also be paid quite handsomely. Has Canelo done irreparable harm to his name and to his career? Will his fans (or former fans) ever trust him again?