World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman has no doubt in mind that the proposed bout between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Gennady "GGG" Golovkin will eventually happen this year.
Boxing fans and analysts have already accepted the fact that the Canelo-GGG showdown will not take place this year, as the two camps remained firm on their stance on the weight issue. Alvarez, the reigning WBC middleweight champion, wants the fight to happen at a catchweight of 155 pounds, while Golovkin is pushing for 160.
But while there are still big issues to be resolved, Sulaiman is still confident that the two camps will eventually find a common ground. The WBC president said that both fighters know the consequences they will face in the event they decline to go up against each after their respective next fights.
"The agreement is absolutely clear and definitive," Sulaiman said via BoxingScene. "Gennady Golovkin and 'Canelo' Alvarez signed an agreement for both of them to make a voluntary defense of their respective title and then once they finish the defenses - they will enter into negotiations to fight each other."
Sulaiman added that they are not buying talks about moving the fight at a later date because the Alvarez-Golovkin fight needs more buildup. He insisted that both camps signed a document, agreeing that the mandatory showdown should happen this year.
If Alvarez declines to defend the WBC middleweight title to Golovkin, the 25-year-old will be stripped off his belt, while GGG, who is the mandatory challenger, will be declared as full champion.
Alvarez, who won the title via a unanimous decision win against Miguel Cotto in November, will make his first title defense on May 7 against Amir Khan at T-Mobile Arena. Abel Sanchez, Golovkin's trainer, told On The Ropes Boxing Radio that Alvarez has 15 days to decide after facing Khan if he wants to face the Kazakh champion later this year.
"There is an order that I have a copy of that was signed by all parties concerned. Golden Boy, the Canelo group, K2 and Gennady signed it, and it says they have fifteen days after Canelo's fight to say whether they want to fight or not," Sanchez revealed. "Once they say they want to fight, they have thirty days after that to negotiate terms."
Golovkin, who has not lost in 34 professional bout and has 31 knockout victories under his belt, also needs to win against Dominic Wade on April 23 at the Forum in California if he wants to stay as mandatory challenger to Canelo's WBC middleweight title.
