With Canelo Alvarez Pulling Out, Where Does Gennady Golovkin Go Next?
By Bradley “The Bulldog” Johnson
Where do we go from here? Well, first and foremost we move forward to the Cinco De Mayo fight and there most likely won’t be a fighter of Mexican descent in the main event. This is a day of celebration for the Mexicans Army’s victory over the French, at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5th, 1862.
Gennady Golovkin, 37-0-1, 33 KO’s has made it clear he intends to keep his date on May 5th. “GGG”, who turns 36 on April 8th is probably entering the twilight of his career and may be down to his last few fights. Therefore, he has no need to skip an opportunity for a payday and another chance to prove he is still the man in the middleweight division.
What does this mean for “GGG”? He must make a fight happen on the 5th of May, although his detractors will probably criticize the chosen opponent, as they have already started. Certain boxing forums more than other talk very loosely when it comes to showing respect for professional fighters and understanding the business of boxing. The detractors or “haters” are already finding a way to blame “GGG” for Canelo pulling out, and now claiming “GGG” is cherry picking. Sometimes I just don’t understand the social media world and lack of thought process when it comes to boxing, or probably any subject for that matter. In a world of “fake news” we must be diligent in looking for real facts and not letting our bias take over our minds. Then again, I know many people would rather spend time discrediting those out there putting in the work, than to honestly assess the situation at hand.
What does this mean for Canelo? Being guilty or not is now mostly left to public opinion. I was listening to Randy “Commish” Gordon, former commissioner of boxing for the state of New York. Randy made the point that when he came across boxers who failed a drug test for marijuana, they always said they caught a “contact high” and it wasn’t them that smoked the weed. He never had someone come out and say that they were guilty. We see this all the time in sports now. Whether it’s contaminated meat, blood pressure medication, or some over the counter prescription that they didn’t realize had a particular ingredient. So yes, there is reasonable doubt for those that believe the athletes word and chooses to use the honor system, but with the number of former players, athlete’s and trainers that have come out and blown the whistle, this will further many peoples suspicions about Canelo’s honesty.
He will probably receive a slap on the wrist and be giving the minimum suspension of six months. This will make him eligible again on September 16th, Mexico’s Independence Day where Golovkin will be a little older and hopefully worn down a touch more for Golden Boys liking. Some say this will taint Canelo’s career for life. I say most people have short memories, and if the money is right it can become a distant memory as long as he can keep performing on the big stage and remains clean in the future. I had forgot that Shane Mosely had popped on a piss test before watching a YouTube clip of Victor Conte speaking of suppling Shane with PED’s years back.
So, what now? Danny Jacobs fights on April 28th and Jermall Charlo fight on April 21st, talking them pretty much out of the picture. Billy Joe Saunders has a fight scheduled in the O2 arena across the pond in June and I don’t think he is taking the fight on such short notice although that is a fight I would like to see. So, it’s probably a Spike O’Sullivan type of opponent that some clown will claim Triple G is afraid to face these others, but these are the types of things that happen when one of the biggest names in the sport pulls out at the last minute. I suppose there is the outside chance of a WBO Super middle-weight champion Gilberto Ramirez, 37-0, 25 KO’s. I would prefer that fight taking place at 168 rather then 160 so Golovkin would make it interesting and try to take a title in another weight division. Once again, I think its just short notice for that type of fight to happen. Then again, I didn’t think this fight would be called off with all the money involved.
What will probably happen is “GGG” goes out and handles business as normal, like his opponent or not. Canelo and fans will remain innocent until proven guilty without a shadow of a doubt. Canelo will continue fighting after a short suspension and all will be distant thought in most people’s memory. We will start this discussion again shortly after Gennady’s win and unfortunately start promoting their fight again on September 16th, 2018.
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