As BoxingScene.com reported last week, Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) is planning to defend his IBF, IBO, WBC, WBA middleweight titles on May 5th - with or without Canelo Alvarez in the other corner.
Canelo (49-1-2, 34 KOs) is under a temporary suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failing two doping tests in February. To make matters worse, the NSAC filed a formal complaint against him last Friday, and ordered the Mexican superstar to appear at a hearing in Las Vegas on April 18th.
Canelo, who tested positive in both tests for traces of clenbuterol, is facing a potential one year suspension.
Golovkin is still scheduled to make a defense Canelo on May 5th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas - until Canelo is officially suspended by the NSAC.
However, Golovkin's promotional company, which is run by Tom Loeffler, is already applying for a permit to promote their own event on May 5th, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
That's the good news.
The bad news, the fight is still likely to remain on HBO Pay-Per-View.
"GGG wants to fight on May 5 in Las Vegas, so in order to do that we have to go through the commission procedure and the official process," Loeffler told ESPN on Monday.
"Anyone who booked a plane ticket or who was planning to come to Las Vegas for Cinco de Mayo weekend to see GGG fight, don't cancel your ticket because we're planning a GGG fight on May 5 whether it's against Canelo or somebody else.
"We're weighing all the options right now. Obviously, the biggest fight in boxing is GGG and Canelo in their rematch in May. If we can't do it then, GGG wants to stay active, but no one opponent has been selected yet."
Contrary to reports, Jaime Munguia (28-0, 24 KOs) is NOT being considered. Some of the other names being kicked around include Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan (27-2, 19 KOs), Demetrius Andrade (25-0, 16 KOs), and Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0, 10 KOs).
2023-10-20 18:24:40
