Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin are believed to be working on a possible rematch, something that may possibly be set in May 2018. However, a mandatory defense of the WBC middleweight title could take some luster out of the sequel.
With their first meeting ending up in a controversial draw, seeing the Mexican brawler and the Kazakhstan KO artist is what the boxing world wants to see. The problem is that Golovkin owes a mandatory defense the Jermall Charlo, someone who wants his title shot, Boxingscene.com reported.
WBC to review issue
The World Boxing Council plans to sit down in a couple of days to discuss the issue.
This will include checking out the position of the fighters involved, a long process that may or may not end favorably.
“Golovkin is a boxer who went through a very long process to get to the point of what happened on September 16. Canelo is an elite boxer and they both gave each other one of the great fights of recent years," WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said in an interview with ESPN Deportes.
Undoubtedly, a rematch between Alvarez and Golovkin would be what fans would prefer to see. The WBC could end up relaxing their stand on mandatory title defenses, meaning Charlo may be made to wait.
If the WBC rules that the mandatory fight should come first, GGG may be forced to decide between the title and facing Alvarez for the second time.
Curiously, the WBC title has been in the spotlight even before the mega bout between Saul and GGG. In a previous post, an Alvarez win would have excluded the WBC title since the Mexican did not want to settle the sanctioning fee.
Golovkin likely to prioritize Alvarez
At this stage of his career, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Golovkin opts to give up the WBC title and push for the rematch.
Also, the fact that he holds majority of the other middleweight belts already shows the level of success that the Kazakh has had so far.
Charlo is about the same age of Alvarez and has shown promise. He is undefeated in 26 fights, 20 of them coming via knockout. In a way, Jermall is in the same vote Golovkin was in before his camp finally came up with a workable deal to push the blockbuster fight that happened last Sept.
16.
The rising American fighter is well on his way to becoming one of the big names in the middleweight division. He will, however, need to be more patient to get his hands on the WBC title. Depending on the verdict likely to be out this week, he may get that chance at the WBC title either by fighting Golovkin or through another fighter among the WBC middleweight ranks.
