Canelo Alvarez Next Fight: Third Match With Golovkin Looms As Best Option

Canelo Alvarez is all set to return to the ring on Cinco de Mayo weekend, but his opponent has yet to be named. Several names have been suggested, but it looks like one old familiar name is leading the pack: Gennady Golovkin.

Seeing a third fight between Alvarez and Golovkin makes no sense for most, believing that the Mexican had already proven himself to be the better fighter. Boxing News 24 suggested six names for Alvarez. These were Daniel Jacobs, David Lemieux, Demetrius Andrade, Billy Joe Saunders, Jermall Charlo, Callum Smith and Golovkin.

The list brings together an interesting selection of boxers, although no one has gotten the lead on being the next opponent of Alvarez. That was until a couple of days ago when De La Hoya bared the ongoing preliminary talks with GGG.

“Last night I had preliminary talks with Golovkin’s people. We threw it out there about fighting for the third time on Cinco de Mayo, which is the biggest weekend in boxing in Las Vegas,” De La Hoya said.

Alvarez is coming off a third-round TKO win over Rocky Fielding at super-middleweight last December, a fight where he made his official debut on DAZN. He signed an 11-fight deal worth $365 million, Bloody Elbow reported.

Although an Alvarez-Golovkin fight could still reel in some interest, it seems that the camp of the Kazakh destroyer is not onboard. In another report from Boxing News 24, Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez said that GGG is not interested in a third fight and prefers easy fights.

“[Looks] like he does not want Bamba de Canelo anymore. Prefers easy as before. We will see Friends,” Gomez said on social media.

Details have yet to be revealed on how Golovkin rejected the third meeting. Conversely, it could be a ploy on his end to force GGG to accept a smaller fight purse split.

Lastly, it would seem odd for Golovkin to pass up a third meeting with Alvarez. GGG made it known before that he wants another shot at Alvarez, meaning the whole shunning by the Kazakh boxer makes no sense.

If not Golovkin, Jacobs could be high on the list. The 31-year-old pug is best known for giving GGG a tough time during their clash on March 18, 2017, losing by a unanimous decision. That ended Golovkin's 23-fight knockout streak, making him a sensible next opponent for Alvarez.