By Edward Chaykovsky
Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum is a spectator when it comes to the middleweight showdown between world champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. He promotes neither fighter and has no horse in the race.
Canelo (46-1-1, 32 KOs) is training for the upcoming defense on May 7 against Amir Khan at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
This past Saturday night at The Forum in Los Angeles, Golovkin retained the IBO/IBF/WBA world titles with a second-round knockout of mandatory challenger Dominic Wade.
Golovkin is the mandatory challenger to Canelo's world title.
The World Boxing Council has ordered the winner of Canelo-Khan to face Golovkin in the fall.
But Canelo, and his promoter Golden Boy Promotions, are looking to push the fight further back - potentially to some point in 2017.
With 50 years of experience in the sport, Arum understands Golden Boy's position to delay the finalization of that match.
At the moment Arum views the bout as a one-side wipeout. Canelo's only defeat was a twelve round decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013. He's won four bouts since.
“All the clamor for ‘Canelo’-Golovkin, you think that’s an even fight?” asked Arum to the Los Angeles Times. “So put it off as long as possible, hope [Golovkin] gets beat and it goes away, or that [Golovkin] gets old. Fans want everything right away."
" The promoters have to do what’s best for their fighter. Canelo is good, but Triple-G with Canelo is a massacre. It’s one thing to lose a decision to Mayweather. It’s another thing to get counted out by Golovkin.”