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NOTES FROM THE BOXING UNDERGROUND: CANELO-GOLOVKIN 2 CANCELLATION DRAMA...BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

By Paul Magno | March 19, 2018
NOTES FROM THE BOXING UNDERGROUND: CANELO-GOLOVKIN 2 CANCELLATION DRAMA...BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

Make no mistake about it, despite all the posturing over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez testing positive for the banned weight-cutting aid clenbuterol, nobody, anywhere, is thinking about actually calling off the May 5 Canelo-Golovkin rematch. With the money involved for all parties—Alvarez, Golovkin, their promotional teams, managers, HBO, and even the Nevada State Athletic commission, itself—it would take World War 3 and 4, hitting at the same time, to stop this fight from happening.

"My biggest concern is that it doesn’t get brushed under the rug and that it’s investigated,” Golovkin trainer Abel Sanchez told Yahoo, back when news of the dirty test first hit. “This time, this is a big enough event that the commission needs to seriously investigate all that has happened in the past…I know he's never tested positive before this, but this stuff [Clenbuterol], it's not something you start using because of a whim. People who are cheaters, if he is, and I'm not saying it's not the beef, because it could be the meat, but let's make this investigation go deep, because you just don't start all of a sudden using that."

Be careful what you wish for, Abel, because your cut of an eight-figure purse is at stake (or “steak,” if I wanted to use a played-out Canelo/beef pun).

And what about Gennady Golovkin, himself?

"There are laws and a commission and [anti-doping scrutiny], and we have to fulfill them," Golovkin told ESPN. "They have to take action in that case. Either disqualify him or [deliver] penalties. But if it's neglected, why do we need a commission? And why talk about tests?

Don’t lay it on too thick guys, because you may just prick the wrong ass and push some do-gooder into action.

The reality is that if Canelo is dirty, he was likely dirty back in the first Golovkin fight and if he DID get popped from accidental ingestion of contaminated beef, then he won’t be getting any boost from the clenbuterol, anyway. Nothing will likely change all too much from who these fighters were in the first fight and who they will be in the rematch.

So, why the heavy-handed media drama from Team Golovkin?

Well, this Canelo stuff is a win-win for them and they’re playing the cards they’ve been dealt. If Golovkin goes on to win the rematch, there’s no issue. He moves on to whatever’s next. If he loses, though, fans will make the case that it was because Canelo was dirty. And that back-door exit will allow the Kazakh KO artist to save face in defeat and move on to the next chapters of his career without suffering too much damage to his image. To his blindly loyal fans and a whole wave of casual fandom, a question mark will be slapped on the loss, even if Canelo is pin-cushioned with needle jabs from aggressive VADA testing up until the Cinco de Mayo ring walk. 

None of this happens if Team Golovkin fools around and somehow gets this fight cancelled with their “we’ve gotta know, we’ve gotta get to the bottom of this” routine. Maybe this is why we’ve seen Sanchez walk back his outrage a bit in recent interviews, more willing to give Canelo the benefit of the doubt on intent. 

But don’t worry about Canelo-Golovkin 2 falling through. Buy your tickets, put aside that PPV money (or bookmark your favorite streaming sites). This is boxing. Nobody wants to know anything when it might stand in the way of checks being cashed.

Quick (S)hits:

-- Jose Ramirez impressed once again. In beating Amir Imam for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title on ESPN Saturday night, the 25-year-old Ramirez firmly establishes himself as an elite in the increasingly young and increasingly interesting post-Terence Crawford junior welterweight division. He exists alongside an upper tier that includes the likes of Mikey Garcia, Regis Prograis, Terry Flanagan, Antonio Orozco, and Viktor Postol. Imam and Sergey Lipinets, who lost spirited battles to Ramirez and Mikey Garcia, respectively, also need to be tossed in the mix as talented contenders more than able to make waves once again. And, btw, wouldn’t Imam vs. Lipinets be a damn good fight?

-- Judge John Stewart’s 120-108 card in Ramirez’s favor on Saturday was absolutely ridiculous. Looks like he made out that card in the parking lot before entering the building.

-- It's a sad day in boxing when the WBC is a greater force for good and for quality matchmaking than the networks or the sport's own promoters. But you have to give credit where credit’s due-- WBC-ordered Imam-Ramirez and Prograis-Indongo served to ignite 140 once again, in just a matter of about eight days. 

-- Dillian Whyte vs. Lucas Browne from London on March 24 got picked up by HBO and it’s going to be a helluva fun fight. Don’t look for too much style and class here, but it should be a nice scrap from the budget-minded premium network. 

Got something for Magno? Send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com

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