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Why Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin won't happen anytime soon

Gennady Golovkin
Don’t expect that Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin middleweight super fight until late 2017.

It’s becoming inevitable that the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin middleweight super fight won’t be held until September of next year, at the earliest.

That remains Golden Boy Promotions’ target date, and Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler of K2 has submitted a counteroffer for a match on that date.

Alvarez has an avulsion fracture in his right thumb and won’t be able to fight for the rest of 2016. Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya has repeatedly said Alvarez wants a fight at 160 before he faces Golovkin.

Thus, that means it’s likely that Alvarez would take a middleweight bout on Cinco de Mayo weekend in May and then face Golovkin in the fall.

“Our position is that we’d like to do that fight [with Alvarez] as soon as possible, and to be honest with you, we’d rather have done it this past May,” Loeffler told Yahoo Sports. “But Golden Boy really wants it to be next September, so that’s what they’re working toward.”

Loeffler finds himself in an unusual position then, working on fights for Golovkin on two fronts. He’s negotiating with WBA middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs for a bout that looks like it would be Dec. 10 on HBO if it were to be finalized.

At the same time, he has begun talks with Golden Boy for the 2017 match with Alvarez that looms as the most significant fight that can be made in the sport at this point.

“I made a formal counterproposal to Golden Boy which would guarantee Canelo not only the A-side billing in the marketing of the fight but from a financial standpoint, it would be clearly his biggest purse possible for any fight out there,” Loeffler said. “Naturally, it would also be Gennady’s biggest but I think this offer was skewed the wrong way. It was pushed as so big to Gennady, but you have to remember, at the same time, it would be Canelo’s biggest also.”

Loeffler said he was willing to concede many points. He’s not interested in battling over venue or things such as who walks out first and who is introduced last.

His goal is to get the fight done while maximizing the revenue potential.

“Our proposal to Golden Boy is that we would go wherever the maximum revenue would be,” Loeffler said. “We’d give them the final choice if the bids were competitive or equal. The location won’t be negatively impacted from our side. Gennady has proven he can sell out in New York, L.A. and London, so whether fight is in Las Vegas, [Madison Square Garden], Texas, if they make a bid, we’re not going to be sticklers. Wherever the best offer is, we’re OK with.”

Loeffler said he has begun talks with Jacobs for what would be an intriguing fight. Jacobs’ co-manager Keith Connolly said Jacobs wants the fight and doesn’t have a problem fighting Golovkin on HBO.

Golovkin has an exclusive contract with HBO and thus the potential of a huge audience on a network TV bout isn’t a possibility.

Loeffler spoke to Al Haymon, Jacobs’ manager, on Tuesday. Haymon doesn’t speak to the media, but Connolly said “we’re optimistic” the fight can be made.

He said he’s heard either December or January, but if the date turns out to be Dec. 10, Jacobs would be ready then.

“We’re in discussions right now and Danny, unlike a lot of others, is very eager to fight Triple-G,” Connolly said. “Believe it or not, Danny believes he can beat him, especially after seeing what impact Kell Brook had on him.

“Danny’s quote to me was, ‘I saw all I needed to see in the Kell Brook fight to know I can beat Triple-G.’ ”

Venue and network doesn’t seem to be an issue for Jacobs as long the financial offer is solid. Connolly said Jacobs, who is from Brooklyn, would prefer to fight at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, which is highly interested in the fight, but venue isn’t a deal breaker.

“We’re waiting to hear the financials, and we’re waiting for the powers-that-be, Al Haymon, Tom Loeffler, HBO, to work out the particulars,” Connolly said. “If the fight isn’t made, it’s not going to be our side, I’ll tell you that. Danny isn’t going to fight for shekels; he’s been making a pretty good living and if he’s going to fight a significant bout like this on HBO, he wants to be paid for it, but he clearly wants this fight.”

Loeffler said he believes Golovkin-Jacobs would be a major fight because it pits what he calls “unquestionably No. 1 against No. 2 in the middleweight division,” against each other.

“We’re going to look to make the best possible fight for Gennady at each point,” Loeffler said. “Our preference is to fight Canelo next. But if that’s not possible, we’ll go right down the list. Jacobs is the next guy and that’s an attractive fight. We will do whatever we can to make that fight. The thing is, Gennady wants to fight the best and he wants to fight often. And as always, that’s what we’ll look to do, keep him active and keep him involved in the best fights we can make.”