Canelo, Golovkin closing in on May 5th rematch
Gennady Golovkin’s promoter says if it were up to them, the rematch would’ve been signed already.
The handlers for Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin are making progress towards solidifying a rematch between the fighters, targeted for Cinco de May, May 5th, of next year. K2 promoter Tom Loeffler had this to say to ESPN about the current state of negotiations:
"We're still in discussions and I talked to (Golden Boy Promotions president) Eric Gomez about 10 minutes ago trying to work out the deal. We are working on concessions on both sides," Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler told ESPN on Tuesday. "It clearly makes the most sense to do it on May 5 and that's what we're focused on."
Gomez said the negotiating process takes some time to navigate but feels the sides are close to a deal, one that could possibly be finalized by the end of the week. And for Team Golovkin, that would suit them perfectly fine.
"Gennady definitely wants this fight to happen next, so there are no issues on our side," Loeffler said. "It's just a matter of both sides making some concessions. If it was up to us we'd have signed for the rematch a week after the first fight, but I'm optimistic that the fight will happen in May."
Canelo and Golovkin first met this past September in what had been a long-awaited showdown. The fight lived up to it’s billing, as it was a genuinely awesome fight, but seemed to be somewhat tainted by an official decision of a split decision draw. Draws are never really satisfying for anyone but the vast majority of media and fans believed that Golovkin deserved to win the decision, which made the result an even tougher pill to swallow.
In particular a 118-110 scorecard in Canelo’s favor by judge Adalaide Byrd was so far out of whack that there was a public outcry of incompetence or corruption — not that that’s anything new in this sport.
Loeffler added that if this fight is indeed signed for May 5, there’s a good chance that former pound-for-pound king Roman Gonzalez could make an appearance on the undercard. Gonzalez would be coming back after consecutive losses to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, the latter of which saw Gonzalez physically dominated and knocked out in four rounds.