By Miguel Rivera
There is no shortage of fighters lining up to fight IBF, IBO, WBC, WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) on May 5th.
At the moment, Golovkin is scheduled to defend his belts against Canelo Alvarez in a rematch on the Cinco De Mayo date, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
But that rematch is in jeopardy after the Nevada Athletic Commission filed a formal anti-doping complaint against Alvarez on Thursday in connection with a pair of failed drug tests in February.
Canelo faces a suspension of nine to 24 months at the hearing, which has been scheduled for April 18 in Las Vegas - but a first time offender would receive a year. The suspension could be reduced to six months, which would send the rematch to a fall date, as Canelo would be capable of fighting by August 22.
Canelo twice tested positive for clenbuterol in random urine tests conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association on the 17th and 20th of February in Guadalajara, earning a temporary suspension from the commission. Canelo's handlers have attributed the positive tests to contaminated meat.
But Golovkin has made it very clear - he intends to fight on May 5th - with or without Canelo in the other corner. Golovkin has been out of the ring since September 16th, when he fought Canelo to a controversial draw.
Several boxers have already made it known that they are willing to replace Canelo - as it appears very unlikely that he'll be fighting in May.
Some of the boxers include Demetrius Andrade, Jaime Munguia, Spike O'Sullivan - and the most recent has been Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
According to multiple sources in Mexico, Chavez Jr. (50-3-1, 32 KOs) has stated that he's willing to replace Canelo and fight Golovkin in May - but at the super middleweight limit of 168.
A Golovkin vs. Chavez Jr. fight - at 168 - was in serious talks a few years ago, but the negotiations fell apart as the Mexican boxer was having legal issues with Top Rank, who promoted him at the time.
Chavez Jr. has been out of the ring since getting dominated by Canelo in a one-sided twelve round fight in May of 2017. The contest took place at 164.5, and Chavez Jr. practically killed his body to get down there and he fought like a severely drained boxer with no energy or motivation.
2023-10-20 17:46:12
