Gennady Golovkin vs Canelo Alvarez 8 figure offer: Just an old tactic?
Shortly after Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez captured Liam Smith's WBO Super Welterweight title on Saturday night, current promoter and Hall of Fame boxing legend Oscar De la Hoya dropped an unexpected bomb during the customary post-fight press conference.
"I made a significant offer, an eight figure offer (to Team Golovkin)," the Golden Boy stated during the streaming post-fight press conference for Canelo/Smith. "I believe it's an offer that is two, three...even four times more than he's ever made, and I haven't heard back. And that's the bottom line."
"Look, I want to make this fight...there's no doubt about it. The bottom line is Canelo is not afraid of anybody. He's going to fight Triple G in September of 2017."
But Gennady Golovkin's head trainer, Abel Sanchez, stated on Sunday night's edition of War a Week Radio that GBP and Team Canelo are taking a page out of the "Floyd Mayweather Business Handbook", and using the gesture to try and minimize the seemingly rampant media and fan scrutiny Canelo has received for allegedly "postponing" the most anticipated match-up in boxing, "Alvarez vs. GGG".
"When Manny Pacquiao was offered a $40 million dollar cap or fee for his fight with Floyd Mayweather, and he turned it down, everybody was in an uproar. But he ended up making what...$200 million?"
"Fortunately for me, I'm just the head coach and I'm not the decision maker...it's Golovkin who makes the ultimate decision. But you have to understand; if this fight does 1.5 million PPV buys and it's priced at $70 or $75 per order, plus a huge site fee, what are they offering Golovkin? Virtually nothing?"
"Gennady Golovkin isn't an upstart," Sanchez stated on War a Week Radio, Sunday night. "He's a star. He's a fighter who puts people in seats. So if there was indeed an offer, and it wasn't accepted, then it wasn't looked at seriously. Maybe it was a starting point for De la Hoya and Canelo, I don't know. But if they realistically want to make the fight happen, they have to make an offer that makes sense."
Sanchez believes the alleged "8 figure" offer is being used by Golden Boy Promotions to temporarily "price Canelo out" of a massive fight against Gennady Golovkin. The experienced boxing coach claims the diversion tactic is as old as the sport itself.
"There are a lot of ways, and this is one of the ways, to 'NOT' make a fight," insists the knowledgeable fight trainer.
"Chris Eubank Sr. recently did the same thing, and made all kinds of unrealistic demands, and the fight between Golovkin and Eubank ultimately wasn't made. So there are a lot of ways not to make a fight, if you really don't want it. By doing this, that's their (Team Canelo) attempt."
Sanchez further states that Canelo and Oscar have shown a history of not being true to their word. Consequently, Abel feels that statements made by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Alvarez to the media, concerning a potential fight with Gennady Golovkin, should be treated appropriately and taken lightly.
"Canelo made an agreement with the WBC, as did Cotto, to adhere to the sanctioning organization's rules in exchange for the opportunity to compete for the WBC Middleweight title. Once they are given these opportunities and ultimately get what they want, then they're not men and don't want to honor their responsibilities or obligations. Cotto didn't live up to his word, and Canelo didn't live up to his word."
"When Alvarez finished the fight with Cotto, he made all of these remarks, and when he finished the fight with Khan, he brought us into the ring and made similar remarks just for the benefit of the media, with no real intention of honoring his word. When they show this kind of behavior and activity, why should anyone believe anything they say?"
"Why would anyone believe that they're negotiating in a manner in which they genuinely want to make the fight with Golovkin?"
Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin would undoubtedly be the most lucrative match-up that could be made within the sport currently. Only time will reveal whether or not all parties involved can agree on a deal that would finally bring the real bosses of boxing the fight for which they've consistently demanded.