By Luis Sandoval
Victor Ortiz’s loss to Josesito Lopez may have spoiled Golden Boy Promotions’ plan to put in Saul “Canelo” Alvarez with Ortiz for September 15th as they had previously announced, but Golden Boy still plans to have Canelo fight on that date regardless.
Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, announced that they will look at 3 possible opponents for Canelo but they will not give up the date of September 15th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Top Rank also has a big fight planned for the same date, two miles down the road at the Thomas & Mack Center, with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr taking on Sergio Martinez for Middleweight supremacy - which will mean both fights will go head to head.
If we thought the Canelo-Ortiz fight falling apart would finally make Golden Boy budge on the date, we were wrong.
“What I know for sure is Canelo Alvarez is the biggest superstar in Mexico. What I know for sure is Canelo Alvarez will be fighting on September 15th from the MGM Grand. What we are going to be doing next week with the matchmakers and Canelo’s team, we are going to be evaluating different options. Oscar [De La Hoya], Eric [Gomez], Canelo and me spoke a little tonight and we are looking at 3 possible names. Obviously it wouldn’t be prudent for me to name those names right now because I’d like to negotiate with them first,” revealed Schaefer.
The only thing Golden Boy might budge on is making Canelo’s next fight a PPV affair and even that’s not a sure thing. Finding Canelo an opponent for his September 15th date has been a difficult task as 3 possible opponents have fallen by the wayside. Out of the 3 possible opponents they are looking at now, Golden Boy only deems one PPV worthy. Not only that, but if they go with either of the other 2 possible combatants for Canelo, we might see boxing make a return to network television. Two of Canelo's rumored options include former champion Carlos Quintana and WBA "regular" 154-pound champion Austin Trout.
“What Golden Boy believes is we don’t do PPVs when they are not PPV worthy because that is taking advantage of fight fans. But having said that, if one of those opponents we are thinking about can in fact come through, it will be a very, very big PPV” said Schafer.
“Now if that doesn’t happen, we are looking at the two other names, two other options. And those fights will be either live on Showtime or, and hold on to you seats because it’s true what I’m about to tell you now; live on CBS - network television”.
So not only will Canelo continue on to fight on September 15th but the Top Rank and Golden Boy standoff continues as well. Golden Boy looks to make an announcement as early as next week when they feel they will be able to reach a deal for Canelo’s next opponent.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007. You can also tune in to The Boxing Lab, Boxingscene’s official audio show every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.