The most anticipated fight of 2018 has been canceled (or at the very least postponed) as Canelo Alvarez withdrew from his May 5 rematch with unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
It’s official—The Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin fight is not happening as planned.
#CaneloGGG2 is canceled!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) April 3, 2018
The fight was unlikely to happen anyway as Alvarez is facing a likely extension of his temporary suspension. He has a hearing on April 18 with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to go over his two positive tests for the banned performance-enhancing drug clenbuterol.
Alvarez failed two random urine tests conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association on February 17 and February 20. Due to the failed tests, he’s likely facing a six-to-12-month suspension.
Alvarez and his team claim the failed tests are due to him eating contaminated beef, but they knew it would be a lengthy process to get this matter resolved.
At a Tuesday press conference, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez spoke about the cancellation and of Alvarez’s character.
“We’re going to have to cancel the May 5 rematch,” Gomez said, per ESPN’s Dan Rafael. “As you all know there is a hearing on April 18 and it’s extremely unlikely this will get properly resolved by then and we need enough time to promote this fight.”
De La Hoya talked about the character of his fighter.
“I want to speak to Canelo’s character. I can assure you that both inside and outside the ring Canelo has always displayed a professionalism and commitment all too absent in the sport. I have known Canelo since he was a teenager and he has handled himself with grace and class and showed respect for the sport. He’s the model for what we want the best in our sport to be.”
While Golden Boy Promotions are saying all the right things in defending their fighter, they still have a long way to go to change the public opinion on whether Alvarez is a clean fighter or not.
As for Golovkin, he still intends on defending his middleweight titles on May 5 but an opponent has not been named yet.
I will be defending my titles on Cinco de Mayo in Las Vegas!
Official announcement coming soon! pic.twitter.com/ewsXojzBdv— Gennady Golovkin (@GGGBoxing) April 3, 2018
Due to the short notice, whoever GGG’s opponent winds up being won’t be close to the caliber of Alvarez as far as talent and recognition.
Cinco de Mayo weekend is typically the biggest fight weekend in boxing and generally pits two big named fighters against one another on pay per view. Unfortunately, that will not be the case this year.
