By Keith Idec
Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum generated some headlines with his statements regarding the outcome of the upcoming Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin rematch.
While being interviewed on the red carpet prior to ESPN’s 26th annual ESPYs awards show at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Arum predicted that Golovkin would win by knockout - because Canelo was no longer using performance enhancing drugs.
“I’ll take Triple-G to win the fight,” Arum told ESPN. “I think that Canelo is gonna pay the price for being off the juice. And I think that Triple-G will knock him out.”
Arum's comments were in reference to Canelo testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol, in a pair of drug tests that were taken back in February.
Canelo has maintained that his positive tests were directly connected to his ingestion of contaminated meat while training in Mexico.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Canelo for six months, retroactive to the date of his first failed test (February 17).
Canelo (49-1-2, 34 KOs) will face Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) for a second time on September 15 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Their first bout, which took place in September 2017, ended in a controversial twelve round split draw.
Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez, who handles Canelo, shook his head at Arum's comments.
Gomez expects his boxer to set the record straight with a very impressive victory in the upcoming tiebreaker.
"[Arum is] entitled to his opinions. That's far from the truth. He's going to have to wait to see what happens just like all of us on September 15. He's more motivated than ever and I think he's going to beat him easier this time," Gomez told BoxingScene.com.
"He's very motivated. He wants to stop him. That's what he's training for. He knows that it was too close to call the first time. He wants to win convincingly this time."
2023-10-21 11:04:47
