Headlining his first Mexican holiday fight card since the retirement of Floyd Mayweather, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will fight on May 7th against former super lightweight champion Amir Khan at the newly constructed T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Billed as a battle of speed vs power, the intriguing but potentially one-sided match-up is not one the fight fans are clamoring for. That distinction is reserved for a future super bout between Alvarez and WBA/IBF/IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
Heading into the fight against Khan, Alvarez is largely considered the favorite and is expected to win decisively. Once complete, with the title in tact, Alvarez and his team have until May 22nd to answer Golovkin’s call. A call K2 Promotions, Golovkin’s promoter, will not allow to go unanswered. Should Alvarez fail to initiate negotiations with Golovkin, the World Boxing Council (WBC), the sanctioning body of Canelo’s title, will strip the Mexican superstar and award the belt to Golovkin according to a mandate by President Mauricio Sulaiman.
This Saturday, Golovkin steps into the ring against mandatory challenger and undefeated Dominic Wade of Maryland. As long as he leaves Inglewood with a win, he’s assured of his super bout with Canelo Alvarez or the WBC title by year-end. During a recent appearance on the Morning Punch-In Boxing podcast, Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions is adamant that they will enforce the WBC’s mandate.