Opinion: Don’t Tease Us with ‘Canelo’ vs. ‘GGG’

Editor's note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

The biggest fight that can be made in boxing, aside from an unlikely return bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, is Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. It’s a fight for which fans are clamoring, as “GGG” currently holds the WBA super middleweight, and the IBF, WBC (Interim) and IBO middleweight titles and Alvarez is the current lineal champion in possession of The Ring and WBC titles.

It should be an easy fight to make, right? Wrong.

Despite “Canelo” being the middleweight titleholder, he has openly refused to face Golovkin at the 160-pound weight limit and is interested in making the fight at a catchweight of 155 pounds. Why? Because he can, that’s why. It makes very little sense in layman’s terms because the middleweight champion should defend the title at the weight limit in his weight class. However, “Canelo” recently dethroned Miguel Cotto for middleweight supremacy in a catchweight bout that was one pound over the junior middleweight limit. To face Golovkin, “Canelo” would have to theoretically go up another five pounds, and that’s something he just isn’t interested in doing.

If it sounds stupid, it’s because it is stupid.

With Golovkin being Alvarez’s mandatory opponent for the WBC title, the options are easy: Either face “GGG” or be stripped of the title. However, there has been a silly contingency plan put in place where “Canelo” and Golovkin will both face opponents this spring in hopes of a September meeting. The idea is to build momentum toward the fight by showcasing both fighters in early 2016.

The problem? That silly little weight thing is still in the way.

Regardless of what Team Canelo says about the weight class no longer being an obstacle, it’s going to present a problem, as he will likely try to prove his worth by being the bigger draw this spring in an attempt to use his marketing power to drag “GGG” down to a catchweight. Meanwhile, Team GGG remains adamant that its fighter will only fight for the middleweight titles at the middleweight limit. That makes almost too much sense, right?

So what’s the big idea? Well, by dangling the golden carrot of a potential Alvarez-Golovkin fight, there will be an added layer of interest in both of their bouts. More importantly, the WBC can leverage its relevance while collecting sanctioning fees as “Canelo” hangs onto its title with “GGG” waiting in the wings. There obviously is the notion that either fighter can lose his next bout and blow up the entire thing, but it just seems that there’s going to be a big tease before these two set foot in a boxing ring across from one another.

With boxing trying to dig itself out of the massive crater that Mayweather-Pacquiao left, it’s important that the sport finds its footing immediately. Putting together big fights establishes new stars and keeps the public’s interest from waning. It’s going to be a difficult task but it can be done, considering that both “GGG” and “Canelo” have provided their fair share of in-ring entertainment thus far. The worst thing the sport can do is pull a fast one on fans that were utterly drained by the saga of Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations dragging on for nearly a half decade. It was only made worse when the fight didn’t come close to living up to the hype and felt instead like a daylight robbery.

“Canelo” and “GGG” are far from the marketable crossover stars Mayweather and Pacquiao were and are, so they shouldn’t play any games unless there is a real indication that this fight is going to happen in September. Eventually, the wait won’t be worth it, and boxing fans will turn their attention elsewhere.

Andreas Hale is a content producer for Jay Z’s LifeandTimes.com and editor-in-chief of PremierWuzHere.com, as well as a frequent Sherdog.com columnist. Check out his archive here.