Golovkin and Alvarez were set to fight May 5, but Alvarez was suspended for banned substancesGETTY IMAGES
Boxers Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin have "agreed to a rematch bout Sept. 15 in Las Vegas," according to Lance Pugmire of the L.A. TIMES. The agreement was "struck hours after a noon deadline that Alvarez’s handlers had given Golovkin to accept their offer of 42.5% of the fight’s purse." Golovkin originally "asked for half, then demanded 45%, but in the end settled for a little less than he wanted -- and a little more than Alvarez wanted to give." The terms were "not immediately revealed, but it’s safe to say the fight will be lucrative for both sides." Their first bout, which was "judged a draw in September," generated a $27M "live gate at T-Mobile Arena" and 1.3 million PPV buys. Golovkin and Alvarez were "set to fight May 5 in Las Vegas until Alvarez was suspended for six months by the Nevada Athletic Commission after submitting two positive samples for the banned substance clenbuterol." The suspension "runs through Aug. 17" (L.A. TIMES, 6/14). Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez, who represents Alvarez, said, "We threw a Hail Mary and it was caught. The fight's done." ESPN.com's Dan Rafael wrote this rematch is "perhaps the biggest fight in boxing." Most project that a rematch would "beat both" the live gate and PPV buys of the first fight and that Golovkin would earn more than $40M. Neither side would "disclose what the 'Hail Mary' was, but executives from the MGM Grand, the host casino for the fight whose parent company owns T-Mobile Arena, got involved and came up with a tweak that helped get the deal done" (ESPN.com, 6/13).
MONEY MATTERS: In L.A., Dylan Hernandez writes, "Ultimately, it was about the money. In boxing, it always is." Golovkin’s side "wanted a 50-50 split of the purse." Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler said that the "demand was made by Golovkin himself and characterized it as part of a principled stand being taken by the fighter." Alvarez was "widely viewed as the loser of the first fight," and he "failed the drug tests that scrapped the second." Hernandez: "But was Golovkin really willing to walk away from such a huge payday? He was nearing the end of his career" (L.A. TIMES, 6/14). ESPN's Mike Golic Jr. said it is an "exciting time" for boxing, which has "a lot of momentum" as a sport. The first Golovkin-Alvarez fight was an "entertaining product." It had "all the controversy too that you wanted to lead to this point" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 6/14).
