By Miguel Rivera
In a move that may see both sides come closer to reaching an agreement, Golden Boy Promotions - who handle WBO 154-pound champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (48-1-1, 34KOs) - and Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, who guide WBC/IBO/IBF/WBA middleweight champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (36-0, 33KOs) - have agreed to sit down in two weeks to negotiate the terms.
Last weekend, Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya told reporters that he sent an "eight figure offer" to Golovkin for a HBO Pay-Per-View collision in September of 2017. The offer was reportedly around $10 million with an unknown pay-per-view percentage.
Loeffler rejected the idea of Golovkin only getting a flat fee and sent a counter-offer, which requested a percentage split of the full revenue.
Canelo suffered a right hand injury during last Saturday's ninth round knockout of Liam Smith to capture the WBO title. He will require at least six weeks of rehabilitation and won't return to the ring until Cinco De Mayo in May. Golovkin will potentially face mandatory challenger Daniel Jacobs on December 10th in New York City.
On Friday, Golden Boy President Eric Gomez challenged Loeffler to call him and negotiate the terms.
“Golovkin said he takes great pride in boxing, that it’s not about money, that he’s willing to fight. He said we’d make a weak offer. We have all these deal points on the table and we’re not getting an answer. I told [them], ‘Let’s sit down and continue the conversation,’ and I haven’t heard back. And if they seriously think we don’t want to make the fight, then take this offer. It’s the most money Golovkin’s ever made,” Gomez told The Los Angeles Times.
"I could come up with 10 or 20 points that prove Canelo is … by far the bigger draw. I don’t want to negotiate in the media, but if they want to discuss the rest of the points, come over, sit down. We’re serious about making the fight. No excuses to get out of it. We’re willing to make the fight. The notion we’re scared is ridiculous. Call our bluff. We’re ready to make the fight.”
It appears Gomez's message reached Loeffler, who reached out to schedule a face to face meeting.
"We want to finalize the fight and I told them let's negotiate in two weeks. We need a long time to promote this fight. It's like the World Series in the MLB, the finals in the NBA, the Super Bowl of the NFL. We need time to organize and promote it. The truth is, we are ready to finalize the fight right now... right now everybody is talking about the fight," Gomez told ESPN Deportes.
"Loeffler wrote me, and we will sit down in two weeks. We will talk, see what we offer, what they offer and hopefully we can reach an agreement to give the fans what they want. We are going to try to keep [the negotiations] between us. I hope we reach an agreement for the fight."
