By Edward Chaykovsky

The oddsmakers in Las Vegas are confidently backing IBO/WBA/IBF middleweight champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (35-0, 32KOs) to defeat WBC champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (47-1-1, 33KOs) - if the fight comes off.

Station Casinos opened Golovkin as a minus-400 favorite over Canelo. The betting limit is $20,000, and the bout must go off by Dec. 31 for action.

The two sides have begun negotiations for a fall showdown. Golovkin is the mandatory challenger to Canelo's title.

“I don’t know if this fight will happen or not, but I think it’s the fight everyone wants to see,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito told the Las Vegas Review Journal. “It would be a great fight for boxing if it actually does happen. No question, it would be a megafight.”

“From what I’ve seen, Golovkin is a beast. He’s definitely a power puncher. Canelo has looked really, really good in his last couple of fights. It should be a good fight, and this is the fight everyone wants to see happen.”

The World Boxing Council allowed the two boxers were allowed interim-bouts before their fall clash.

Canelo returned last Saturday night when he knocked out Amir Khan in the sixth round at the newly built T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. And Golovkin retained his belts in April with a second round knockout of IBF mandatory challenger Dominic Wade at The Forum in Los Angeles, California.

While Golovkin is the favorite, all of the Vegas oddsmakers expect Canelo to get his fair share of action from the betting public.

Las Vegas handicapper Dave Cokin told the paper, “That will be the end of Canelo. I think Golovkin is the best fighter in the world right now. I hope it does happen, because I want to bet it. That’s a good line. It’s a great betting fight.”