Comments Thread For: Loeffler: We Expect Canelo To Defend Against Golovkin

[bug0092]

Every single time Golovkin has had an opportunity to "get the middleweight championship back in it's rightful place" he's negotiated a way out of getting the belt. It takes two to tangle and Golovkin has danced with two partners instead of taking the belt.

Yeah, I'm sure GGG was quite relieved that he didn't have to fight Cotto or Canelo. Or maybe he's got other belts to collect in the meantime? What was his last fight again? Obviously, Cotto was NEVER going to get in the ring with him. K2 expected a Canelo win and knew all this was going to happen. They still have the WBO belt to go after as well as an IBF mandatory to take care of this year. While Canelo holding the WBC belt and defending it at 155 is shameful, stripping him at this point gets them nothing. GGG would obviously rather fight Canelo for it (and the $$$). What's so hard to understand here?

[Bronx2245]

All the examples you gave are fights between men in different divisions.

In each case the bigger man knew that his opponent was naturally smaller than him and that, even with the catchweight, he would still have a weight advantage in the ring on the night.

Now look at Canelo and GGG. Canelo actually enters the ring heavier than Golovkin after rehydrating.

Fighting at less than 100% strength and fitness against a smaller man is one thing.

Doing that against a man who would be around 5lbs heavier than you in the ring even without the catchweight is another thing altogether.

This is also a mandatory defence by Canelo. I defy you or anybody else to find even one example, in the entire history of boxing, of a world champion demanding a catchweight from a mandatory challenger.

February 14, 2008:

In the days when there were just eight weight divisions, catchweight bouts were commonplace.

Each boxer in such a fight was seen as taking a risk.

The smaller fighter would hope that his opponent might weaken himself making the agreed weight. For the bigger man, the gamble would be whether he could get down to the lighter weight and remain strong...

Bernard Hopkins KO9 Oscar De La Hoya -- Las Vegas, Sept. 18, 2004

Middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins was so eager to make the biggest purse of his career against Oscar De La Hoya that he was willing to give a little in negotiations. Most significant, was his agreeing to the Golden Boy's stipulation that the match be made at a catchweight of 158 pounds, two pounds inside the middleweight limit. In the event, Hopkins came in at the surpassingly light weight of 156 pounds.

If De La Hoya hoped that reducing weight would affect Hopkins's stamina, he got it wrong. As I reported from ringside for Boxing Monthly: "As he gained momentum, Hopkins actually appeared faster than De La Hoya, and coming out for the ninth, the Executioner from Philadelphia looked as if he could keep going strong for many more rounds than the mere four that remained."

Hopkins was to box in another catchweights bout when, as light heavyweight champion, he agreed to meet leading middleweight Winky Wright at a weight of 170 pounds on July 7, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Hopkins carried the weight far better than a soft-looking Wright and dominated the last four rounds to win a unanimous decision.

http://espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3238297

Oscar had won the Middleweight title from Felix Sturm, so yes, they were in the same weight class. Bernard wanted that check, so he agreed to the catchweight. CHAMPIONS DO WHAT CHAMPIONS DO!

[tiliheels]

its sad how fans who bashed catchweigths for years and even cried that canelo lost to floyd at 152 are now defending canelo for fighting at 155 over and over. why does he have fans? i don't get it. after he drops the belt and ducks ggg they will still defend him. the essence of being a fanboy.

i dont see ppl defending it..i just see ppl understand that cant do a thing about it, and ppl that dont hate canelo as much as they hated floyd..
ijs..
it was everyones cry for floyd never to be considered great for w/e reason that made him such a stigma, for canelo they dont care for w/e reason...i dont either..if he's a diva he'll go down as one when we rank the best all times..GGG dont need every title to be ranked among the greats if he just takes the fights we know he should take...
not saying he can or cannot make the lara fight, but lara is a better win than billy joe and we all know it...idc about the titles i care about proven fighters i guess

[bug0092]

All the examples you gave are fights between men in different divisions.

In each case the bigger man knew that his opponent was naturally smaller than him and that, even with the catchweight, he would still have a weight advantage in the ring on the night.

Now look at Canelo and GGG. Canelo actually enters the ring heavier than Golovkin after rehydrating.

Fighting at less than 100% strength and fitness against a smaller man is one thing.

Doing that against a man who would be around 5lbs heavier than you in the ring even without the catchweight is another thing altogether.

This is also a mandatory defence by Canelo. I defy you or anybody else to find even one example, in the entire history of boxing, of a world champion demanding a catchweight from a mandatory challenger.

Whoa. Way too much logic and reason in one post for some here to digest. You also have to understand that GGG is held to a standard no other fighter in the sport is because he said "154 to 168." So forget the MW unification goal that's been in place since the Rubio fight, he's obviously obligated at any time to fight at any weight between 154 and 168. He's also expected to do it on his opponent's terms...$$$, venue, etc....And, if he shows no interest in this obligation with a particular fighter, it shall be considered a "duck" of said fighter.

[KeyboardWarrior]

Frampton and Quigg don't need catchweights, but the soulless ginger Canelo will hold the WBC MW belt hostage.

[Bronx2245]

Whoa. Way too much logic and reason in one post for some here to digest. You also have to understand that GGG is held to a standard no other fighter in the sport is because he said "154 to 168." So forget the MW unification goal that's been in place since the Rubio fight, he's obviously obligated at any time to fight at any weight between 154 and 168. He's also expected to do it on his opponent's terms...$$$, venue, etc....And, if he shows no interest in this obligation with a particular fighter, it shall be considered a "duck" of said fighter.

Please see Post #22. B-Hop did what GGG is being asked to do, for the exact same reasons, in the exact same weight division! He accepted the challenge, and won the fight with a wicked liver shot! No excuses!

[bug0092]

i dont see ppl defending it..i just see ppl understand that cant do a thing about it, and ppl that dont hate canelo as much as they hated floyd..
ijs..
it was everyones cry for floyd never to be considered great for w/e reason that made him such a stigma, for canelo they dont care for w/e reason...i dont either..if he's a diva he'll go down as one when we rank the best all times..GGG dont need every title to be ranked among the greats if he just takes the fights we know he should take...
not saying he can or cannot make the lara fight, but lara is a better win than billy joe and we all know it...idc about the titles i care about proven fighters i guess

Floyd was a polarizing figure because he knew that'd make him the most $$$. So he relishes it. Canelo's a clean cut kid. Canelo's also shown himself to be a risk taker while Floyd was the ultimate risk manager. Floyd's greatness surely contributed to that perception in that he made it look too easy against a lot of good comp. Even his biggest critics know this deep down inside.

I get that the Wade fight is a letdown even if it's a necessity. I'm frustrated that he's not getting in the ring until late April. I'm sure they would've liked to have him fight by March. But the two other "champs" didn't step up. Now, if GGG were five or six years younger, there wouldn't be a sense of urgency. I think they are looking at unification and $$$ right now over legacy. But at this late in the game, it will have to change soon. Though there's no reason to think GGG doesn't have at least a few years left at his current level.

As for Lara, I'd like to see it happen for the day-after entertainment value on this forum alone. But Lara's been getting over $1mil to fight pretty low level guys even though he isn't a draw. He's getting paid money from the fund. That's what GGG makes for a fight on HBO. You think he'll accept less to fight GGG? Of all the revenue generated by a Lara/GGG bout, what percentage do you think will be because of Lara? Where's the money going to be coming from? If Lara really wants GGG, he should step up and fight Jacobs - both Haymon guys so t's an easy fight to make. A win over Jacobs would give him a presence at 160, the WBA MW belt under GGG and some momentum with fans. Outside of hardcore fans who like his particular style, he has no buzz right now. Unfortunately, I don't see Lara calling out Jacobs at the moment. Why is that? There are real reasons this fight's not happening and it has nothing to do with GGG and his team.

[FrankieClutch]

I seriously think this fight is getting made before the end of 2017. I know we all want this fight to get made sooner than that, but for whatever reason (gain more momentum with the casuals) the fight is going to marinate for a little while longer. Nonetheless, I truly think this fight will get made eventually.

[kafkod]

February 14, 2008:

In the days when there were just eight weight divisions, catchweight bouts were commonplace.

Each boxer in such a fight was seen as taking a risk.

The smaller fighter would hope that his opponent might weaken himself making the agreed weight. For the bigger man, the gamble would be whether he could get down to the lighter weight and remain strong...

Bernard Hopkins KO9 Oscar De La Hoya -- Las Vegas, Sept. 18, 2004

Middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins was so eager to make the biggest purse of his career against Oscar De La Hoya that he was willing to give a little in negotiations. Most significant, was his agreeing to the Golden Boy's stipulation that the match be made at a catchweight of 158 pounds, two pounds inside the middleweight limit. In the event, Hopkins came in at the surpassingly light weight of 156 pounds.

If De La Hoya hoped that reducing weight would affect Hopkins's stamina, he got it wrong. As I reported from ringside for Boxing Monthly: "As he gained momentum, Hopkins actually appeared faster than De La Hoya, and coming out for the ninth, the Executioner from Philadelphia looked as if he could keep going strong for many more rounds than the mere four that remained."

Hopkins was to box in another catchweights bout when, as light heavyweight champion, he agreed to meet leading middleweight Winky Wright at a weight of 170 pounds on July 7, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Hopkins carried the weight far better than a soft-looking Wright and dominated the last four rounds to win a unanimous decision.

http://espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3238297

Oscar had won the Middleweight title from Felix Sturm, so yes, they were in the same weight class. Bernard wanted that check, so he agreed to the catchweight. CHAMPIONS DO WHAT CHAMPIONS DO!

Oscar and BHop were in the same division when they fought, but Oscar was not a natural MW and BHop knew that he would still have a size advantage in the ring, on the night.

And it wasn't a mandatory defence by Oscar.

A good analogy would be if Cotto had not been mandated to defend against Golovkin and had voluntarily offered to unify against him at 158.

I'm pretty sure Golovkin would have accepted that and Cotto would have gotten no criticism for requesting it.

It's Canelo walking around and rehydrating heavier than Golovkin, and demanding a 5lb CW for a mandatory defence that makes this case unique.

Edit: My prediction is that once GGG and Canelo start negotiating in May, both will compromise and the fight will happen at 157/158.

[bug0092]

Please see Post #22. B-Hop did what GGG is being asked to do, for the exact same reasons, in the exact same weight division! He accepted the challenge, and won the fight with a wicked liver shot! No excuses!

To add to kafkod's response above. DLH looked bloated and unimpressive in the Sturm fight. He had no business at MW. Now compare the way Oscar looked on that night to Canelo entering the ring at 170+.

Hopkins is no dummy and wouldn't make a fight where he felt a weight drain would put him at a significant disadvantage. Taking nothing away from him, but fighting DLH at 156 is not the same as Canelo at 155. That said, if GGG thinks he can pull it off and wants the payday, he'll drain himself. Otherwise, he can take Canelo's vacated belt and move on. Unless Canelo's okay never fighting for a belt until GGG retires, he'll get the fight eventually.