By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Gennady Golovkin’s fight against Daniel Jacobs is just three days away, yet the questions about Canelo Alvarez never stop coming.
The undefeated middleweight champion made it clear this week that he doesn’t want to talk about Alvarez until after he boxes Jacobs on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) also indicated that constant speculation regarding a higher-profile fight against Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) hasn’t distracted him from preparing properly for battling Brooklyn’s Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) in an HBO Pay-Per-View main event.
“It’s no problem for me,” Golovkin said. “I feel very comfortable. My focus is on Daniel. Canelo’s Canelo. I talked [about] Canelo last year, all year.”
If even the impossibly polite Golovkin gives off the vibe that he’s tired of talking about Alvarez, you couldn’t blame him. At this point, he’s not sure whether to believe Alvarez and his handlers are serious about finally putting together their fight for September.
“I don’t know,” Golovkin said. “For me, it doesn’t matter. Seriously. My focus right now is on Daniel Jacobs. Canelo’s Canelo. Canelo is a different story. Seriously, I’m not thinking [about Alvarez].”
Golovkin apparently would need to win two more fights before finalizing a long-awaited showdown with the Mexican superstar. If the heavily favored Golovkin beats Jacobs, he is expected to return to the ring June 10 in Kazakhstan, probably against WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs), in what would be a full 160-pound title unification fight.
Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez said last week that if Golovkin fights June 10 in Kazakhstan that it could jeopardize making Alvarez-Golovkin for September because it wouldn’t give them enough time to properly promote that huge pay-per-view fight. Tom Loeffler, managing director for K2 Promotions (Golovkin), disagrees and still is operating on the assumption Alvarez-Golovkin will take place in September if both boxers keep winning.
In addition to Golovkin needing to beat Jacobs and presumably Saunders, Alvarez also needs to defeat Mexican rival Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KOs, 1 NC) on May 6 in Las Vegas, to keep Alvarez-Golovkin viable.
“Clearly, it would be the biggest fight in the sport of boxing,” Loeffler said. “So there’s really no reason why that fight shouldn’t happen, if both guys are victorious. But again, everyone’s focused on Saturday night. And if there’s a way to make the Canelo fight happen, we’ll certainly do that from our side.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
