Canelo Alvarez's promoter Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions says that it's "a possibility" that we'll see Alvarez faces Gennady Golovkin this year, and also says that he sees the fight as one that can "get back" the fans that were turned off of the sport or have left the sport following the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in 2015.
Here's what Oscar told Marcos Villegas:
"I'm busy (with Canelo's court case) in Florida, (Tom) Loeffler's busy over there in Europe doing his thing, and, you know, it's, I have to focus on this court case, which will end soon."
"After the case, I'm gonna call Loeffler again and we can negotiate again, and continue our negotiations, and see how it goes. But it all depends on how it starts and how it ends. Then we'll take it from there. Do I see it this year? It's definitely a possibility."
On Canelo vacating the WBC belt: "A fight of this magnitude, OK, because I can build this fight to be huge, so I can get back those fans that Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather lost for us when they fought -- you don't negotiate a fight of this magnitude in a week or two weeks. It just doesn't happen. So the fact that the WBC gave us a deadline, or else it goes to purse bid, or else this, that, no. Canelo's not in that position anymore. That's exactly why we did what we did."
De La Hoya is being a promoter here, though in fairness there is some legitimacy to his claim that Canelo-Golovkin is simply too big of a fight to negotiate in two weeks, particularly with Alvarez and Golden Boy caught up in a court case in Florida right now. That won't silence those who think Canelo giving up the WBC title is a weak move, but it's at least something to consider, and either way, the belt is now with Golovkin, where it probably belongs in the first place.
Will we see the fight this year? It's definitely a possibility! Right? Maybe. The fight makes sense for September, and it's June. Sure, it could happen in October, November, or December, but I'm starting to get the feeling we may be waiting until May 5, 2017, to see this fight. That's not the worst thing to ever happen -- it doesn't even approach the five year wait for Mayweather-Pacquiao -- but De La Hoya and Alvarez have to recognize that if it does not happen this year, they are going to take some hits in the media and with fans.