Canelo-GGG II is dead, at least for now.
After a temporary suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for two doping violations was extended, Canelo Alvarez withdrew from his rematch bout against Gennady Golovkin on Tuesday evening. The pair were set to face off on May 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“We’re going to have to cancel the May 5 rematch,” said Eric Gomez at a news conference in Los Angeles Tuesday. “As you know there is a hearing on April 18 and its extremely unlikely this will get properly resolved by then and we need enough time to promote this fight.”
Promoters had been hoping to salvage the fight, a rematch of the fighters’ draw in September, which also took place at T-Mobile Arena. Alvarez tested positive for clenbuterol – a banned substance – in Mexico on two separate dates in February. He blamed the positive results on consuming tainted meat in his home country, but the timeline for his being cleared to fight – if he indeed is cleared of the violations – made the May 5 date impossible to meet.
“I am truly shocked about what has happened and for those who have doubts and suspicions about my integrity, I have always been and will always be a clean fighter,” Alvarez says. “I want to apologize to HBO, Tecate and Hennessy and all my other sponsors, the media and to everyone who is involved in the promotion of this event, and especially to the fans. I respect this sport. I will always be a clean fighter.”
Golovkin, who many believed should have won the first fight rather than the draw the judges came to, has vowed to fight May 5, submitting an application to promote a fight at T-Mobile arena earlier this week in case the scheduled PPV affair fell through.
Tickets had been selling well for the rematch, moving as the 10th best-selling event for all of March in the secondary marketplace, according to figures from Ticket Club. Last September’s first go between the popular fighters ranking as the No. 6 sporting event for all of 2017 in terms of sales in the secondary market. Alvarez actually made that list twice, with his bout against Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. earlier in 2017 at No. 7.
Those who purchased tickets will be able to receive refunds for their expense, and will have to wait to see whether or not the rematch will materialize in the wake of the cancellation.
