By Keith Idec
Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin weren’t close friends before they fought last year.
They did have a cordial relationship that stemmed from their sparring sessions earlier in their careers. And often after boxers share a ring together, especially more than once, they become friendly later in life.
Even legendary Mexican rivals Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera have become friends well into retirement.
Golovkin is open to the idea of he and Alvarez having a respectful relationship again once their fights and all of this controversy are behind them. Alvarez definitely doesn’t feel the same way as their September 15 rematch nears.
The 28-year-old Alvarez said Sunday before their open workouts in Los Angeles that Golovkin and his trainer, Abel Sanchez, have made their rematch entirely too personal for him to consider mending those fences.
“For me, it’s very difficult personally, especially for all the things that’s been said, all of the offensive claims that have been made about me,” Alvarez said, according to a translator. “So for me, personally, it’d be very difficult to leave that door open.”
Golovkin and Sanchez have harshly criticized Alvarez for twice testing positive for clenbuterol in February. The Mexican superstar’s subsequent six-month suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission caused the cancelation of their rematch May 5.
The 36-year-old Golovkin continued to admonish Alvarez on Sunday for failing those tests.
The WBA/WBC/IBO middleweight champion clearly doesn’t believe Alvarez’s explanation, either. Alvarez maintains that contaminated meat consumed in his home country – a common problem in Mexico – caused him to test positive for clenbuterol.
Golovkin’s skepticism aside, he is open to restoring a cordial relationship with Alvarez.
“Why not?,” Golovkin said Sunday. “If he comes back for real life, absolutely. If it’s fake, it’s impossible, not for him, for me, because I can’t. This is life. I believe maybe, maybe not [in a] couple months, maybe couple years we’re going to a big convention, big boxing convention, together. Why not? Nobody knows.”
Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) and Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) will headline HBO Pay-Per-View’s four-fight telecast two weeks from Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
