By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Oscar De La Hoya was blunt before a press conference Tuesday to promote the Canelo Alvarez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight.
If Gennady Golovkin wants to fight Canelo Alvarez in September, he either can accept the money De La Hoya offered or continue fighting other opponents for less. Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) is scheduled to fight Danny Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) in a middleweight title fight March 18 at Madison Square Garden (HBO Pay-Per-View).
If Golovkin gets past Jacobs and Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) beats Chavez (50-2-1, 32 KOs, 1 NC) on May 6 in Las Vegas, increasingly impatient fans will want to see an Alvarez-Golovkin showdown in September. According to De La Hoya, that’ll depend on Golovkin’s willingness to take what Alvarez’s promoter considers a fair offer.
“Look, the offer is there,” De La Hoya said to a small group of reporters at the Hard Rock Café in Manhattan. “He would be making the most money ever [in Golovkin’s career]. Golovkin without Canelo, he’s making what he’s making. But I think that, look, we’re waiting for him and the ball’s in his court.
“So I feel that, look, you guys waited, the fans waited for Pacquiao-Mayweather for eight years. We’ve been talking about this fight for only a year. I’m not saying we’re not gonna make it. But the offer’s there and, look, we don’t know what’s gonna happen in May. Obviously, we’re in Canelo’s corner 100 percent. First things first, but there is a date in September wide open, so it’s just a matter of him signing on the dotted line.”
Critics have lambasted De La Hoya because they think he is avoiding putting his promotional company’s cash cow in the ring against the Kazakh knockout artist. Alvarez’s fight against Chavez is expected to be a financial success, but according to several Internet sports books, Alvarez is a 10-1 favorite over his Mexican rival two-plus months before they’ll meet at T-Mobile Arena.
De La Hoya didn’t divulge details of the Golovkin offer Tuesday, but previously has said Golovkin would’ve been guaranteed at least $10 million as part of the offer he made late last summer. It also has been reported that Golovkin was offered a flat fee for facing Alvarez, but not a percentage of what likely would be significant pay-per-view revenue.
De La Hoya contended Tuesday, however, that his offer to Golovkin was a combination of a guaranteed purse and pay-per-view revenue.
“Let’s just say that it’s a combination,” De La Hoya said. “The deal is a combination of both. Look, if they’re not happy with the deal, then it’s not on us. The deal is there. He would make the most money ever against Canelo and if you really want the fight, I mean, Canelo’s not running from nobody. He wants to fight the very best. And that’s absolutely, positively including Triple-G.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.