Opinion: Don’t Hold Your Breath for Canelo-GGG

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The world wants to see Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.

After “Canelo” decimated Amir Khan with a scintillating sixth-round knockout for the ages on May 7, he turned his attention to Golovkin, boxing’s boogeyman, who was seated ringside.

“Like I said in Mexico, ‘We don’t [expletive] around,’” Alvarez said during his post-fight interview, his every word trained on Golovkin. “We don’t come to play in this sport. I fear no one in this sport. I’ll fight him right now. Let’s put the gloves on and get in there with him.”

It was the perfect setup for the biggest fight in boxing -- aside from a Floyd Mayweather Jr.- Manny Pacquiao rematch -- to happen this September between the sport’s most popular fighter and the man nobody wants to fight. Unfortunately for fight fans, business minds will prevail in the coming days, and what once felt like a sure thing will go back to being a pipe dream.

Before I get into the particulars, let’s be clear: This isn’t on “Canelo.” If it were up to him, he’d fight Golovkin tomorrow. What he said in the ring wasn’t to entertain the fans. This wasn’t posturing. He’s a prideful Mexican fighter who certainly doesn’t enjoy being cast as the fighter running scared. It’s simply not in his DNA.

The problem is that the redheaded Mexican is Oscar de la Hoya’s money train, and De La Hoya isn’t quite ready to see the biggest draw in boxing derailed. Some may believe that “Canelo” wouldn’t lose anything if he were unable to defeat Golovkin. However, that’s absolutely wrong. If Alvarez were to lose, he’d be known as the fighter who can’t win the big one. His stock will take a hit and he’ll concede the rights of being the biggest star in boxing to “GGG.”

De La Hoya isn’t quite ready to push all of his chips into the center of the table because he’s not done collecting more chips.

At 25 years of age, “Canelo” has a lot of boxing left in him and can pretty much fight whoever he wants while stacking up piles of money. Although he’s a monster on fight night, Alvarez demands to fight at 155 pounds and uses that weight to his advantage, as he’s known to blow up to the size of a light heavyweight on fight night. With him being the cash cow, anyone who is interested in making a few fighters must bow to those demands. Call it the “Mayweather Rules” because Team Canelo learned best from Mayweather how to negotiate with all the advantages to lower the risk. This isn’t about boxing; it’s about business, and De La Hoya knows how to do business. He’s also aware that Golovkin presents a significant challenge for “Canelo.”

In the fight with Khan, “Canelo” struggled mightily with cutting off the ring and dealing with the Brit’s hand speed. His size became the great equalizer in the fifth and sixth rounds when he finally began to land his power shots. It was only a matter of time before the bigger man would wear down a smaller fighter that was moonlighting as a junior middleweight and knock him off the tightrope. That won’t be the case against Golovkin. “GGG” is a true 160-pounder who has never been knocked down in either his pro or amateur career, and Alvarez won’t have the same luxuries he did against Khan and every other opponent he was significantly larger than.

Although “Canelo” holds The Ring, lineal and WBC middleweight titles, he has yet to fight a true middleweight. Meanwhile, “GGG” has been bouncing 160-pounders out of the ring with ease. Even if you activate the “Golovkin hasn’t fought anyone” argument, the fact remains that he is knocking people out who are 160 pounds. “Canelo” has yet to do that. It’s a mystery why Alvarez still chooses to hold the WBC title -- Golovkin is his mandatory challenger -- but maybe Team Canelo is hoping that Team GGG will flinch and give in to its demands. As it stands right now, “GGG” is refusing to give in and is content with fighting whomever they put in front of him.

Obviously, there’s the idea that Golovkin has run out of opponents, and that’s very true. However, as long as he’s more interested in respecting the middleweight title rather than becoming a businessman, it won’t bother him. Meanwhile, “Canelo” can continue his standoff by proving that he’s the bigger draw in boxing. Eventually, he will fight 160-pounders. When? Who knows? By the time he does, “GGG” will be a few years older, and perhaps that’s exactly what Golden Boy Promotions is waiting for.

All this to say that you shouldn’t get your hopes up for Alvarez-Golovkin this year. As tantalizing as the dish sounds, especially after the highlight-reel knockout that “Canelo” delivered against Khan, it’s just more primping and posturing by the business minds.

Trust and believe that “Canelo” wants to fight Golovkin just as bad as Golovkin wants to fight “Canelo.” Unfortunately, boxing isn’t that simple.

Andreas Hale is the editorial content director of 2DopeBoyz.com, co-host of the boxing, MMA and pro wrestling podcast “The Corner” and a regular columnist for Sherdog.com. You can follow on Twitter for his random yet educated thoughts on combat sports, music, film and popular culture.