By Keith Idec
SANTA MONICA, California – Gennady Golovkin understands why reporters keep asking him about Canelo Alvarez.
That’s why the mild-mannered middleweight champion repeatedly answered all those questions about rescheduling their canceled rematch and Alvarez’s performance-enhancing drug ordeal both before and after his second-round knockout of Vanes Martirosyan on Saturday night at StubHub Center. Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) just wants fans and media to realize that the success of the remainder of his career isn’t predicated on whether he fights Alvarez again.
Golovkin acknowledges that he’ll make much more money for a rematch with Alvarez next than he would for any other fight. The Kazakhstan native also wants to square off against Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) a second time because he is certain he won their 12-round fight September 16 in Las Vegas, and he seeks another opportunity to prove himself after settling for a controversial draw.
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While he clearly wants that rematch, the 36-year-old Golovkin considers fights against WBA world middleweight champ Royta Murata (14-1, 11 KOs), Daniel Jacobs (34-2, 29 KOs), WBC mandatory challenger Jermall Charlo (27-0, 21 KOs) and IBF mandatory challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0, 10 KOs) to be legitimate options for his return to the ring on a date to be determined.
If Golovkin’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, and the suspended Alvarez’s representatives at Golden Boy Promotions can’t come to an agreement in the coming weeks to reschedule their rematch for September 15, Golovkin gladly will welcome other opportunities.
“I do think that I won [against Alvarez],” Golovkin said through a translator. “I think I’m better. I have all my belts. In fact, let’s just not put all the eggs in one basket with Canelo. There’s a couple of other good fighters – maybe not as good [for me] financially. But Canelo is not the only option. … There are some other boxers that should be given a chance. Let’s not only talk about Canelo. It’s not only Canelo at this weight.”
Trainer Abel Sanchez seconded Golovkin’s take on facing Alvarez again, especially since the besmirched Mexican superstar isn’t currently enrolled in the WBC’s “Clean Boxing Program.”
“Boxing does not revolve around Canelo,” Sanchez said. “There’s a lot of other good fighters in the middleweight division that deserve a chance or that deserve to fight for a title. … The focus needs to be put on the guys at the top. Whether they fight Gennady or they fight each other, if you take Canelo out of the equation, you have Jacobs and Charlo that can fight, Derevyanchenko and Gennady that can fight. There’s Murata that’s available. There’s a lot of guys that are available that the public needs to focus on, instead of [Alvarez] refusing to comply with the rules.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
