Although Canelo was out, Golovkin still fought on the date and ran through Vanes Martirosyan in two rounds. Negotiations resumed for a new date for the rematch but quickly became contentious due to GGG demanding a larger piece of the financial pie. The highly publicized dispute nearly derailed the rematch as the two sides simply couldn’t see eye to eye on the split between both fighters. With the fight in doubt, the unified middleweight champion looked elsewhere and had another fight lined up in the event that he didn’t get what he wanted from Alvarez’s team at Golden Boy Promotions.
“How close was I to moving on to another opponent?," Golovkin wrote in a blog for HBO. “I actually had. Golden Boy gave me a deadline to accept their latest ‘final offer.’ They were very public about that too. I had a deal in place to fight WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders in August and I was planning to start my training camp in Big Bear. Tom (Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter) told the Saunders team that if Canelo agreed to my terms we would take that fight first. We were honest with them. That is how we deal with people. One hour after the deadline for Golden Boy’s ‘final offer’ passed, Tom received a call from them saying they would meet my terms and the deal was done.”
DAZN: There’s a new way to watch fight sports – find out more
Alvarez and Golovkin battled to a controversial draw last September in what was one of the best fights in 2017. Judge Adelaide Byrd scored the fight 118-110 for Alvarez while Dave Moretti saw it in favor of Golovkin with a score of115-113. The third judge, Don Trella, scored it a draw 114-114.
Many felt Golovkin had done enough to warrant a decision and wanted the rematch to happen more than anything he’s ever wanted in his career. He was happy with his negotiated purse for the original date of the rematch. But when Alvarez failed two drug tests, GGG decided to put his foot down until he got what he felt he deserved after everything Alvarez had put him through.
“Of course I wanted the rematch to happen but it was never a worry for me if it did or did not happen,” Golovkin said. “That is because after Canelo failed two random drug tests in February everything changed. After I beat Vanes Martirosyan on May 5, I authorized my promoter Tom Loeffler to begin a new negotiation for the rematch with Canelo. Canelo and Golden Boy Promotions assumed I would fight under the terms of the May 5 rematch and they were unhappy when I gave them my terms. What they refused to admit was that it was their side that changed everything once Canelo failed his drug tests. That was their fault not mine.
“My team and I treat everyone we do business with on a professional level. Whether we agree or disagree we show respect. But Golden Boy decided that they would share my proposal with the media and insult me – every day. I guess they thought the media, the event partners, and the fans would agree with them and put pressure on me to accept their terms. It did not make a difference to me. It did not make a difference to the fans, they just wanted to see the fight. I knew what I wanted. I knew what was fair. So it was easy to deal with Golden Boy. I did not care what others thought. I am the champion. Canelo was the challenger. If they wanted the rematch, this time it would be on my terms.”
