By Miguel Rivera
Hall of fame retired referee and ESPN analyst Joe Cortez believes WBC middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (47-1-1, 33KOs) will face David Lemieux in the fall, and not IBO/WBA/IBF champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (35-0, 32KOs).
The World Boxing Council has ordered Canelo to make a mandatory defense against Golovkin in the fall. If Canelo refuses to do the fight, then he will lose his title and Golovkin will be named champion. Of course there is always the possibility of a step-aside deal being worked out, which the WBC already said they'd be willing to approve if both sides agreed to it.
The teams for Canelo and Golovkin are currently in talks and a purse bid is scheduled for May 24th in Mexico.
Canelo was in action last Saturday night in Las Vegas, where he knocked out Amir Khan in six rounds. Lemieux, a former IBF middleweight champion, was featured on the undercard and stopped Glen Tapia in four rounds. Both Canelo and Lemieux are promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
Cortez feels the Golovkin-Canelo showdown will happen later on as their respective promoters will continue to build the fight into something bigger, although it seems Golovkin's side wants it to happen right now.
"For me it would be the Canadian David Lemieux [to face Canelo next]. [Golden Boy President] Oscar de la Hoya told me that he plans to have Canelo fight three fights a year, so I think with the knockout that he had over Amir Khan on Saturday - it left a great impression for future fights," Cortez told El Vocero.
"There is talk of Gennady Golovkin, and that would be a super explosive fight because both Canelo and GGG will go hand in hand, but I think it won't happen right now. The winner of that fight will undoubtedly be the best 'pound for pound'. I think a fight between Golovkin and Canelo could generate revenues similar to what Mayweather-Pacquiao left."
Regarding Canelo's insistence to fight at a catch-weight of 155-pounds as middleweight champion, Cortez does not agree with that.
"I think world championship fights should be in the weight at which the fighter is a champion. If they are champions at middleweight, they must do the fight at 160 pounds. In the case of the fight between Canelo Alvarez and Amir Khan, we saw as middleweight drop to 155 pounds and welterweight rise to 155. Neither was at their weight," Cortez said.
"So I do not agree with [catch-weights] and the sanctioning bodies must force their champion to fight at his weight. Permitting this practice is opening the door to a cause a black eye on boxing."
