The highly anticipated showdown between World Boxing Council champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and interim champion Gennady Golovkin will not happen anytime soon.
The World Boxing Council announced that they have reached out to the camps of Alvarez and Golovkin about the mandatory fight between the two middleweight superstars.
WBC revealed that Golden Boy Promotions, who handles the career of Alvarez, and K2 Promotions, who promotes Golovkin, agreed to delay the fight until the second half of 2016. Alvarez and Golovkin will face separate foes before end of May next year.
According to the announcement, both parties agreed to the deal in order to generate more interest in the long-proposed Golovkin-Canelo showdown. After their May bouts, both fighters will have no choice but to face each other if they win in their respective next fights.
"If there is no agreement a purse bid will be conducted under the WBC rules and regulations," WBC said in a statement. "If after their corresponding voluntary defenses one boxer is unable to fight the other for the undisputed WBC Middleweight Championship of the world, the unable fighter will lose his status as champion or interim champion. The fighter able to fight will be named undisputed WBC World Champion."
Alvarez, who holds an impressive 46-1-1 record with 32 knockout victories, won the WBC middleweight crown via a unanimous decision victory against Miguel Cotto last month.
On the other hand, Golovkin, who is still undefeated in 34 professional fights, is coming off an eighth-round knockout win against David Lemieux, which was his 20th consecutive knockout victory.
The fights both fighters generated huge revenue, which makes K2 Promotions promoter Tom Loeffler believes that the Golovkin-Alvarez showdown will be a big bout next year.
"You have the two best guys fighting each other in the division and it makes for a super-fight," Loeffler told BoxingScene. "You have Gennady who sold over 20,000 tickets in New York at Madison Square Garden and 'Canelo' sold over 30,000 tickets in Texas and you combine those two fan-bases you have the biggest fight that can be made."
Loeffler also added that there is no timeframe for the Golovkin-Canelo fight if both fighters emerge victorious in the first half of 2016. But the K2 promoter hinted that there is a chance the bout could take place in September, particularly the Mexican Independence Day weekend.
