The reports of a fall 2017 fight seem legit, and the intentions of Golden Boy Promotions and K1 are pure, but the length of time between now and the fight complicates matters.
“I believe that Canelo wants to fight Gennady. I don’t think he is afraid of Gennady, but I think Golden Boy wants to build up the fight and the time also gives Canelo time to get to 160 pounds,” Loeffler said. “We can jump up and down all we want, but it won’t help us get the deal. We have to focus on continuing to build Gennady. The bigger we can make Gennady, the bigger we can make that fight with Canelo, as long as we have to wait.”
In a year’s time both GGG and Canelo will theoretically fight 4 times each. They are at the point in their careers where every opponent is a threat in one way or another, which leaves time for them to take a loss before next fall.
The fight is currently built off the mystique of GGG and his knockout power, which would evaporate if he is caught by a perfectly placed right hand. Canelo is on top because of his recent string of victories but even those have come against smaller fighters. He’s running out of 147lb opponents and will soon have to stand toe-to-toe with true middleweights.
Combat sports are unpredictable by nature and trying to set up a fight a year in advance leaves far too much to chance.