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Canelo Alvarez welcomes trilogy with Gennady Golovkin following one-off at 168 pounds

Canelo Alvarez (right) vs. Gennady Golovkin. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Fighters Network
27
Nov

Canelo Alvarez has a quick turnaround ahead of him in two weeks.

Three months after he outpointed Gennady Golovkin over 12 grueling rounds, Alvarez is back in the ring again.

He meets Rocky Fielding on December 15  at New York’s Madison Square Garden in his first foray in an exclusive partnership with DAZN. The 28-year-old Mexican star is moving up to 168 pounds for the bout, but the change in weight is a one-off, Alvarez acknowledged during a media conference call Tuesday. After all, there was no reason to boil himself down to the middleweight limit of 160 pounds for what amounts to a stay-busy fight.



Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 knockouts) said he’ll return to 160 pounds next year to defend his Ring middleweight championship. His first fight of 2019 is penciled in for May 4 — Cinco de Mayo weekend — and there’s talk Canelo will meet Daniel Jacobs. There’s other possibilities for May and beyond. GGG (38-1-1, 34 KOs) is now a network free agent; he’s mulling offers from both DAZN and ESPN.

The Ring reported last month that Golovkin was likely heading to DAZN; of course, a partnership with the fledgling platform would make a trilogy with Alvarez possible. Canelo says bring it on.

“He can do whatever he wants, whatever is convenient,” Alvarez responded to The Ring during the call. “I did my thing and to each his own. We’ll see in the future. I’m always willing to make a third fight. We did two, why not three?”

A third bout between Alvarez and Golovkin remains one of the biggest bouts that can be consummated in the sport. Their first meeting resulted in a draw. The rematch ended in controversy, too, with Alvarez earning the majority decision victory. Through 24 rounds, we still don’t have a conclusive result.

While Golovin and promoter Tom Loeffler choose the 36-year-old’s next destination — DAZN or ESPN — Alvarez fights for a secondary super middleweight title.

“God willing I win this world title and come back down to 160 pounds,” Alvarez said. “Winning by KO is always impressive and I’m planning to do my best to get it in this fight by any means necessary. I’m going to give everything in the ring as I always do. I will make sure I give a great fight to the fans at MSG.”

Canelo vs. GGG, one more time? It sounds like a mere formality if Golovkin links up with DAZN.

 

Mike Coppinger is the Senior Writer for RingTV.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger

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