Golovkin Focused On Szeremeta Before Canelo Trilogy
Despite DAZN and Golden Boy pushing for a trilogy bout between Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, the former has other plans in mind. Golovkin is committed to his upcoming mandatory middleweight title bout against Kamil Szeremeta.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Golovkin (40-1-1) discussed the rumored Canelo bout on September 12 inside AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. That would require Golovkin to work past his fight with Szeremeta and for Canelo to skip a potential clash with Billy Joe Saunders. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, all parties are trying to make the best fight possible. Golovkin, however, is sticking with his initial plan.
“I made a commitment before all this situation with coronavirus happened,” Golovkin stated. “I’m talking about my fight with Szeremeta. I intend to keep my word. Once the situation changes, as soon as everything is back to normal, I intend to have this fight first.”
Golovkin was supposed to face Szeremeta around late February to early March, but the fight was moved to April. A Golovkin calf injury delayed the fight even further. The bout is looking like it could be taking place on June 6 in California, but with the current pandemic, it may be pushed back.
The first fight between Canelo and Golovkin took place in 2017 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A split decision draw, the result was considered controversial since Golovkin outscored Alvarez (53-1-2), according to CompuBox. The first fight drew 17,318 people with a gate of $27,059,850. In September 2018, the two fought once again inside the T-Mobile Arena. There was a live gate of $23,473,500 from 16,732 tickets sold. It appeared that Golovkin out-landed Canelo once again according to CompuBox, but Canelo won the bout via majority decision, 115-113, 115-113, 114-114.
While a trilogy bout has been rumored for a while, Golovkin stated that Team Alvarez delayed the bout last fall. With both signed to DAZN, Golovkin had to honor the number of bouts he has under it.
“I should point out that there is always two sides,” Golovkin went on to say. “They actually avoided this fight in September. They didn’t want to fight in May of 2020. So I went my way. I have my own career, and I figured: How long should I wait?”
Following the second Canelo bout, Golovkin beat Steve Rolls inside Madison Square Garden via KO. He then survived a war with Sergiy Derevyanchenko to win the IBF and IBO Middleweight Titles. Not looking like classic Golovkin, the 38-year-old dug deep to win via unanimous decision. One of the main reasons he wants a fight with Szeremeta is to break the record he shares with Bernard Hopkins of 20 straight title defenses in the middleweight division.
When will we get to see Golovkin v. Canelo III?