Canelo Alvarez and Golden Boy Promotions have made what they say is a final offer to middleweight world champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin in an effort to secure a rematch for September 15 in Las Vegas.
Under the terms of the offer, Alvarez would get 57.5 percent of the revenue from the fight, with Golovkin taking the other 42.5 percent.
Closer to Fair Split
The split has been the main sticking point in negotiations. In their controversial draw last year, Alvarez took 70 percent of the money. The sides originally agreed on a 65/35 split in Alvarez’s favor for a rematch, but Golovkin had a change of heart, demanding a clean 50/50 split instead.
Over time, the two sides each budged slightly, with Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya saying he would be willing to give GGG 40 percent, while Golovkin said he’d come down to 45. The final offer from the Alvarez team splits the difference, something they hope will be good enough to get the fight done.
“This is final,” Golden Boy President Eric Gomez told ESPN on Tuesday. “No more playing games. He has until noon [Pacific time Wednesday] to accept or walk away. If he walks away, good luck to him.”
Originally, the two were set to fight on Cinco de Mayo earlier this year. But Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) tested positive for clenbuterol, a prohibited performance enhancing drug. While the Nevada State Athletic Commission gave him a minimal six-month suspension due to the fact that it was plausible that he may have only tested positive because of tainted meat, that still scuttled the fight.
Instead, Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) had to quickly put together a replacement fight, taking on Vanes Martirosyan in Califronia. GGG had little trouble defeating Martirosyan, knocking him out in the second round.
According to Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler, the ultimate decision on whether to accept the offer will be made by his fighter.
“It’s going to be up to Gennady,” Loeffler told BoxingScene.com. “He’s in Moscow right now, he’s at the opening ceremony [for the World Cup] at the invitation of Hublot and so I’m just waiting to hear back from him.”
Jacobs Simmers on the Back Burner
Should Golovkin decide not to take this offer, the Alvarez team does have a backup plan. Last week, De La Hoya told ESPN that he was moving on and making an offer to one of the other top middleweights in the world, Daniel Jacobs (34-2, 29 KOs).
While Jacobs doesn’t have the name recognition of GGG or Alvarez, he has shown that he can fight with the best in the world. In March 2017, he lost a close decision to Golovkin in what many think was GGG’s toughest test so far.
“Eddie Hearn is anxious to get the fight done for Jacobs,” Gomez told ESPN. “I have to make him aware there is a possibility of a Golovkin fight because I don’t want to mislead him. But we’re within striking distance of being able to make the Canelo fight with Jacobs if Golovkin walks away.”
