Golden Boy VP: Canelo is 154-Pounder, No 160 For Golovkin

By Edward Chaykovsky

As previously reported, IBO/WBA/IBF middleweight champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs) is placing a target on the back of WBC champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (46-1-1, 32KOs) and now he's baiting the Mexican superstar to face him.

Golovkin is the mandatory challenger to Canelo's world title. The World Boxing Council has allowed both boxers to take an interim fight before facing each other in the fall.

Canelo could lose the title if he refuses to face Golovkin, who also holds the WBC's interim title at 160-pounds.

Golovkin must first defeat Dominic Wade on Saturday night at The Forum in Los Angeles. Canelo is back on May 7th, defending his world title against Amir Khan at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

To make the fight, the two boxers must agree on the weight - at least if they plan to face each other in the fall. Canelo is refusing to face Golovkin at the full middleweight limit of 160, but because Golovkin is the mandatory challenger he can stand firm in his position to reject the idea of a catch-weight.

Golovkin ridiculed Canelo, calling him a businessman and not a real idol of the sport.

Golden Boy Promotions Vice President Eric Gomez, who promotes Canelo, cautions that Golovkin's insults will not get him any closer to a showdown with the Mexican star.

“Right now, [Alvarez] has a fight with Amir Khan and he’s concentrating on that. We’ll make a decision after the fight,” said Gomez to the LA Times. “Gennady’s not the first guy to try and goad Canelo into a fight and he’s not going to be the last. That doesn’t make fights. If he thinks insulting him will make the fight, he’s mistaken. Will the fight happen? It’s going to happen. It’s a matter of when. And we’ll make the fight when we feel it’s the best time."

As far as the weight, Gomez indicates that a catch-weight is certainly in order - because Canelo is a legit junior middleweight who happens to hold a piece of the middleweight crown.

“Canelo is not a middleweight … if Gennady really wants to make the fight, maybe we can talk about some catch-weight where Gennady comes down [in weight] and Canelo goes up, but he’s truly a 154-pounder,” Gomez said. “If Canelo is giving up weight, Gennady should, too.”