Boxing: Gennady Golovkin Optimistic About Title Unification Bout Against Canelo Alvarez
Undefeated middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin remains optimistic that his highly-anticipated showdown against Mexican boxing superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will happen in September.
While it is still unclear whether or not the two camps will reach a common ground later this year, Golovkin expressed confidence that Alvarez will defend the World Boxing Council middleweight title against him in September.
"I think there is a great possibility to have this fight this year," Golovkin told reporters, BoxingScene noted. "It is planned for September. So, right now we are waiting for September."
Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions also said in an interview with Sky Sports that Canelo has no other choice but to defend the WBC middleweight title against Golovkin, who is the mandatory challenger.
Loeffler said that WBC allowed both fighters to face different foes in their next fights to build up interest in the title fight. But if Alvarez declines to face Golovkin later this year, Loeffler pointed out again that the Mexican will be stripped off his title and Golovkin will be declared as the new champion.
"Canelo has just won the title, and they've said they want to make one defense before he fights Gennady to build up the fight," Loeffler said via BoxingScene. "That's where we're at, right now. It's in the writing that Canelo fights Gennady or his status as champion will be vacated by the WBC."
The two camps have remained firm about their stance on the weight issue, which is viewed as the biggest hurdle in finalizing the bout. Canelo and his camp are pushing for a catchweight of 155 pounds, insisting that Golovkin will have a huge advantage if the fight will be at the full middleweight limit of 160 pounds.
However, Loeffler insisted that they will not agree to fight at a lower weight because the fight will be for the WBC middleweight title. In fact, aside from Canelo's title, Golovkin's World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and International Boxing Organization middleweight title could also be at stake.
"In our particular instance against Canelo there wouldn't be any negotiations about the weight," Loeffler added. "It would be two middleweight champions fighting each other at 160-pounds. Now if Canelo vacates the title and it becomes a voluntary fight down the road in 2017, then anything is negotiable - the money, location and weight."
Golovkin, who holds a perfect 34-0 record with 31 knockout victories, has not fought below 157.8 pounds in his entire career.
Watch the highlights of Golovkin below.
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