Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin have the possibility of meeting up for their long-awaited trilogy match on September 17th on DAZN.
For their trilogy match to occur, they must win their fights this year, with Canelo facing Dmitry Bivol on May 7th and Golovkin battling Ryota Murata.
It’s going to be anything but easy for Canelo to go up to 175 to challenge WBA champion Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) for his title on May 7th.
If Bivol fights the way he did against Joe Smith Jr. in 2019, Canelo will go crashing down to his second career defeat, and the boxing world won’t see him face Golovkin in September.
Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs)is close to signing a 2-fight deal with Eddie Hearn that will be up to $85 million guaranteed for the Mexican star.
Alvarez, 31, chose the two-fight deal that Hearn was offering him over the one-fight$45 million deal from PBC to fight Jermall Charlo. If Canelo changes his mind about the two-fight agreement, he can always swing back and take the Charlo fight.
Compared to the relatively safe opposition Canelo has been facing in the last four years, Bivol and Golovkin are going to be a massive improvement. Unlike Canelo’s last seven fights, it’s not a sure thing for him against Golovkin and Bivol.
For Golovkin, he still needs to defeat WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata for him to get the chance to fight Canelo on September 17th. Ryota can punch, and he’s capable of pulling off an upset against Golovkin if he fights the way he did in his rematch with Rob Brant.
“I just heard that he’s close to signing with Bivol. Honestly, it’s a great fight,” said David Benavidez to Fighthype on the news of Canelo close to finalizing a two-fight deal with DAZN and Eddie Hearn.
“I’m sure he can. He’s the only one who has been able to stand up and land great shots against Canelo and go 12 rounds,” said Benavidez when asked if Golovkincan still gives Canelo problems if the two fight in September.
“I don’t know how anybody can say that a Golovkin that went 12 rounds and had a war with him [Canelo] is not nowhere and is going to get washed out. I feel like Golovkin is always going to be a great fighter.
“He has so much skills and experience, and he has so much power that he’s always going to be a threat no matter who he fights. So like I said, I’m excited to see that fight [Canelo vs. Golovkin], very excited, but I feel like my time is close.
“I think I’m coming a little bit into my prime. I just turned 25. I feel stronger, more motivated, and I feel hungry, and everything is going great right now. I’m just looking forward to the future.
“I can’t have my nose in everybody’s business. If we didn’t get the call, we didn’t get the call. I feel like for boxing, it’s a great fight, and we get to see another GGG fight after that [if Canelo and Golovkin win their fights].
“It’s not an easy fight in any way. It’s going to be a great fight,” said Benavidez. “Like I always said, I want to make my own path. If I can’t get that fight [Canelo], I’m not going to have my hands out because everybody says, ‘It’s a payday.’
“I’m going to keep going through the ranks and winning the fights that I have to win. This one [David Lemieux] is going to be for an interim title. It’s basically for a world title [WBC 168-lb] because the guy [Canelo] that has the title is going up.
“I’m just going to make my own path. Hopefully, after this one, I can get a fight. I don’t want to look too far ahead, but ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade is going up to 168. That’ll be a great fight. That’s why I’m making my own patch, fighting other great fighters.
“I think so,” said Benavidez when told that winning the interim WBC super middleweight title will make it more likely that he’ll eventually get a fight against Canelo. “But like I said, I’m just doing what I got to do, winning the fights I know I can win and giving them the best fights possible,” said Benavidez.
