According to multiple sources, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has agreed to a rematch versus WBC, IBF &WBA World middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin on May 5th. The location and venue is yet to be determined.
Eric Gomez, president of Alvarez’s promotional partner, Golden Boy Promotions, says the terms of this rematch have been agreed upon and Canelo (49-1-2, 34 KO’s) is ready to go following last September’s controversial draw decision in his first encounter versus “GGG.”
Of note, although their first bout had a rematch clause, this one will not.
“It’s going to be another great fight, so it’ll likely be a natural to do another rematch, but it’s not in the agreement,” Gomez told Lance Pugmire of the LA Times. “We want to concentrate on getting this [Alvarez-Golovkin rematch] done and then we can talk about a third fight later.”
The first bout between Alvarez and Golovkin resulted in a widely-panned draw, with the controversy being exasperated by a bizarre 118-110 card in Canelo’s favor issued by judge Adalaide Byrd. Most observers, however, saw the fight as a close encounter, with Alvarez starting big and ending big, but losing the middle rounds to a more active, more aggressive Golovkin.
“I know Canelo’s going to win,” Gomez said. “I think Canelo figured him out in the last three rounds. Look at that fight. Canelo handled [Golovkin] those last three rounds. And this time around, Canelo’s going to have an easier time with him. Not an easy fight, but he has the experience now and he wants this fight.”
Most pundits had Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KO’s) winning a close affair, but the bloom fell off the Kazakh’s rose in 2017 as some argue that he lost both of his fights last year. “GGG” showed non-stop aggression against Canelo last September but little else as his vaunted power didn’t make a dent and he was outboxed by his smaller foe.
That first encounter was held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The rematch is likely to end up there although New York’s Madison Square Garden is making a strong bid for the match.
“Very strong, huge,” Gomez said of the pending New York bid, praising the facility’s $50,000 gate-tax cap that will provide savings from the Las Vegas offer.
“It is expensive being in New York — the overhead, the hotels — but those are the two leading contenders and once we get the contracts signed, we’ll get to work.”
An official announcement is expected to be made within the next few days.
