Opinion: Why Canelo Will Continue Ducking Golovkin

Canelo Alvarez has to fight Gennady Golovkin now right? He got another freebie from the WBC last night with the knockout win over Amir Khan and now it’s time to stop playing and give the people what they want – the Alvarez vs Golovkin superfight. While Canelo said the right words last night that he’s not afraid of anyone and he will fight Golovkin at 160 there were just too many mixed messages coming out of his camp last week to suddenly believe promoter Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo are ready to throw their cautions to the wind and step up to the plate to fight Golovkin.  And the rewards for keeping Canelo undefeated and perpetually away from Golovkin are just too great. The money-making potential of the clean-cut and respectable Canelo could be potentially greater than the repulsive Floyd Mayweather who amassed hundreds of millions (but zero endorsements) for ducking and dodging all the best challengers. This business tactic of boxing handpicked patsies increased Floyd’s wealth and leverage and most all of his challengers ended up just happy for the big payday and boxed with a zeal and urgency less than enough to win or physically hurt the establishment cash cow Floyd. Canelo could become that kind of manufactured star with political leverage just like Floyd had – if he can avoid losing another fight. Keep in mind that Canelo is now the co-star of the 160 pound division – with the far bigger upside than Golovkin who is 34 already. Canelo and Oscar have the attractive option to do a Mayweather-like handpicking patsy tour for five years and earn a fortune for themselves and their venues and of course the WBC who loves their sanctioning fee percentages. It’s all contingent on avoiding a KO loss to Golovkin – just like Mayweather (and Al Haymon) knew they had to avoid the KO loss to Pacquiao (by any means necessary) in 2010 and 2011 and hope for Pac to eventually lose  – a plan which proved successful for them. A KO loss to Golovkin ends everything and crashes the carefully crafted illusion that Canelo is the extraordinary superstar super fighter that comes around once or twice a century. A KO loss to Golovkin means that Oscar and Canelo would have to start all over again with two or three comeback fights for much smaller money than what they were even able to pay Khan (a reported $13 million) for taking that whooping last night. The rewards are just so gargantuanly great if – IF – Canelo and Oscar can just find a way to sidestep Golovkin until GGG begins to fade and gets old.  Floyd was able to do it for six years with Pacquiao – so there has to be a path that Canelo and Oscar can fancy foot there way through this temporary Golovkin minefield. I would love to be proven wrong by Canelo and Oscar next week and they accept the fight and give Golovkin a fair offer and we see this clash of titans later this summer. But considering how Mayweather and Haymon showed that their brilliant (but dishonest and cowardly)  business model can be hugely successful I can’t quite sincerely believe Canelo is truly serious and honest about fighting Gennady Golovkin in his next fight.  — Scoop Malinowski