By Miguel Rivera
Last Saturday night at AT&T Stadium in Texas, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hova revealed that his company offered Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (36-0, 33KOs) a guaranteed sum of $10 million to fight Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (48-1-1, 34KOs), who that very night knocked out Liam Smith to capture the WBO junior middleweight title.
Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, who handle Golovkin, denies some of the circulating reports which claim they rejected a proposal from Golden Boy.
Loeffler will not reveal the actual numbers or the details of his discussions with Golden Boy, other than the target date of September 2017. He was under the impression that both sides would remain quiet and not negotiate through the press.
At the moment Loeffler and his team are focused on a mandatory title defense against Daniel Jacobs, which may take place in December. Canelo suffered a hand injury during last week's fight and he will be out of the ring until 2017.
"Well, we are still in discussions [for Canelo]. On our side, I know Gennady wants the fight and we're going to try to reach an agreement that benefits both parties. We have not rejected anything," established Loeffler to ESPN Deportes. "The reality is that the negotiations are not finished. We've never turned down the fight or refused any offer. Golovkin had a fight in London and Canelo had a fight in Dallas."
"Obviously we hope to reach an agreement to make the fight. We have worked with Golden Boy before, with Golovkin and David Lemieux, so it shouldn't be a problem [to reach a deal]. For me, it's the best fight that could be made in boxing. It would be the best purse for Gennady and it would be the best purse for Canelo. They want the fight in September and we will be flexible with that. We can not force Canelo to take the fight."
"Golovkin will fight again in December. We have the WBA mandatory with Daniel Jacobs and I think it's an excellent fight. We know that Canelo injured and we hope he recovers soon."
