By Miguel Rivera
Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has advised his countryman, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez to request a catch-weight of 158-pounds for a proposed fight with WBA/IBO/WBA/IBF middleweight king Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin.
Earlier this year, the World Boxing Council ordered Canelo to make a mandatory defense of his title against Golovkin.
The two boxers were allowed to take part in interim-bouts. Golovkin knocked out Dominic Wade in two rounds, while Canelo blasted out Amir Khan in six.
The two sides had until May 24th to reach a deal or a purse bid would take place in Mexico City. Last week, Canelo made a decision to vacate the WBC world title and then the sanctioning body named Golovkin as their beltholder at middleweight.
At one time Chavez and Canelo were heated rivals back in Mexico. Now they are several weight divisions apart and unlikely to ever fight. He now calls Canelo "a friend" and says he will support his decision, whichever way he goes, with Golovkin.
Chavez believes Canelo "can beat" Golovkin if he "uses his legs more" and stays away from being a stationary target for the big puncher.
For months two boxers have argued over the weight limit. Golovkin wanted the full middleweight limit of 160 and Canelo demanded 155-pounds. Chavez views 158 as a good middleground for the two of them.
Chavez would also like to face Golovkin, at a catch-weight of 168-pounds. Their camps were in talks at one point, but the negotiations fell apart two years ago after Chavez became involved in a legal dispute with former promoter Top Rank.
