By Steve Kim
At the Palm Restaurant in Los Angeles, IBF, WBA, WBC, IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) and promoter Tom Loeffler held a small, intimate gathering with the press to make what was basically a non-announcement of the May 5th date that they are still hoping to salvage.
With it being less than a month away from Cinco De Mayo, is there a deadline to make this a reality?
"All the venues have told us that they are going to keep the date as long as we feel it's still possible to promote a show," explained Loeffler. "HBO to their credit, they originally had a pay-per-view scheduled on May 5th, they've adjusted their schedule to accomodate 'Triple G' which is not easy to do with less than 30 days."
The likes of Vanes Martirosyan have been mentioned as a fill-in for Saul Alvarez, who had to drop out of this date after testing positive for clenbuterol and faces a disciplinary hearing with the Nevada Athletic Commission on April 18th. Spike O'Sullivan had been in the running but is now fighting on May 4th at the StubHub Center on a card promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
So worse case scenario: does Golovkin hope that 'Canelo' is eligible to do their rematch in September and sit idle or does he try and get another more credible fight in June?
Loeffler answered - "That is dependent on what the Nevada commission rules on April 18th, depends on what Nevada rules then we all have to make our adjustment. Hopefully Gennady has a fight secured by May 5th by that time and he's not dependent on it."
What also loom is a mandatory defenses against the likes of Sergiy Derevyanchenko (who's rated number one by the IBF) that his representatives are pressing for.
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com
