For Canelo Alvarez, the rematch with Gennady Golovkin is his priority. Both fighters battled to a controversial draw last Sept. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A rematch is obvious, and both sides are currently in talks to possibly hold the fight on Cinco De Mayo weekend.
Currently resting, Alvarez reiterated that he wants the tiebreaker to happen. Negotiations are underway, and an official date is expected to be announced before 2017 comes to a close.
No obstacles ahead
With a date already picked out, the place where the rematch would be held has yet to be finalized.
According to Boxingscene.com, the top locations being considered are Arlington, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Alvarez vs. Golovkin II is expected to push through. Previously, there were concerns regarding the World Boxing Council and the mandatory title defense. The WBC has, however, given the green light for the rematch which means top contender Jermall Charlo will have to wait.
Will rematch be in Sin City?
Speaking of locations, it seems the Golovkin camp is showing some hesitation to have the rematch held in Las Vegas in May. A lot of this was the controversial scoring by one judge, Adalaide Byrd who curiously scored it 118-110 in favor of Alvarez.
"We’ll sit down with [Nevada State Athletic Commission chief exec] Bob Bennett, and there are some things we’d want to address if the fight goes back to Vegas,” Loeffler was quoted of saying to MMA Junkie, obviously referring to the questionable scorecards.
Alvarez needs to show up early
Most saw the fight close though Alvarez may want to start his engines early. While this could have been part of his ploy to gauge GGG and his fight plan, most felt that GGG’s aggression stood out in the early rounds.
Alvarez did show he could take the punches and countered the attacks of Golovkin.
The rematch is likely to be more explosive with both fighters already a bit familiar with the other’s style. However, both may come resort to a new strategy to try and outthink the other.
Back to zero
While most felt Golovkin won the fight, the reality of it all is that the rematch places everything on reset. This means both fighters are expected to make adjustments and try something new in an effort to gain an advantage.
Other than their ploys, a fierce exchange is expected once more. One punch or a combo can easily shift to anyone’s favor. At stake are bragging rights to be feted as the best middleweight fighter of this era with most boxing icons slowly exiting the sport due to age.
