HBO's Nelson on Canelo-GGG, Reflecting on 2015

By Ryan Burton

BoxingScene.com caught up with the new appointed Executive Vice President of HBO Sports, Peter Nelson, shortly after Saturday's media gathering in Southern California to promote the Sergey Kovalev-Jean Pascal January 30th rematch that will be be broadcast on HBO from Montreal, Quebec.

The premium network enjoyed a fruitful 2015 that was highlighted by the long awaited Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown and the highly anticipated Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez clash.  Both fights were distributed by HBO pay-per-view with Mayweather-Pacquiao a rare joint venture with Showtime pay-per-view.

"We are always pleased when the fights that the fans want to see are put together.  The result of the fight for Mayweather-Pacquiao was maybe a little anti climatic but I think we got a great fight with Cotto-Canelo and we are really looking forward to what 2016 brings," said Nelson.

After Alvarez's points victory over Cotto, talks immediately shifted to a potential fight between the newly crowned WBC middleweight champion and Gennady "GGG" Golovkin.  Before Cotto-Canelo, the WBC stated that the winner of the fight must face Golovkin in their next fight or risk being stripped of their title.

Nelson said that he too is looking forward to the potential showdown but said that the fight doesn't necessarily have to happen next. 

"It is a great fight and it is one that fans are starting to clamor for and I think with their two dominate performances in the Cotto-Canelo fight and the Golovkin-Lemieux fight - I think for the first time there really is a kind of heat being felt. There is still time I think before Canelo really graduates to be a full 160 pounder and Gennady has been at that weight for sometime. I think we need to see what 2016 brings and roll into the fights that the fans want to see," Nelson stated.

It should be noted that as this article was being written, the WBC sent out a press release stating that Canelo's promoter Golden Boy and Golovkin's promoter K2 had to come an agreement and that both fighters will be allowed a mandatory defense and that there will be a 15-day negotiating window immediately following both mandatory defenses.  If an agreement at that time cannot be reached, a purse bid will be ordered.

An option for Canelo could be former IBF middleweight champion David Lemieux who put up a valiant effort in his loss to Golovkin.  Nelson feels that the style of the boxer-puncher Mexican and the hard hitting Canadian could make for a great fight.

"I think style wise it would be an extremely interesting, compelling match up. It is just a matter of what makes the most sense for each of their careers. At this point Canelo is really off of a high point and I am excited to see where he goes next. Lemieux I think he showed a lot of heart against Golovkin and I am excited to see where he goes next," Nelson told BoxingScene.com.

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