De La Hoya says Alvarez-Golovkin 2 likely off, offers fight to Daniel Jacobs
Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin and promoter Tom Loeffler's demands for parity have apparently cost them a shot at a rematch against Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 15 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, according to ESPN's Dan Rafael.
"He's stubborn and wanting 50-50 and it's not going to happen," said Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya about Golovkin. "The Canelo train has left the station."
De La Hoya ended talks on Tuesday and had Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez extend a formal offer to middleweight contender Daniel Jacobs and promoter Eddie Hearn instead.
"So there's a deal on the table for Daniel Jacobs to fight Sept. 15 against Canelo," De La Hoya said. "Eddie loves the idea. He loves the fight. Daniel Jacobs loves the fight and we love the fight as well. So we're just moving forward and making sure that Canelo has the toughest dance partner possible for Sept. 15."
Hearn told ESPN that he's taken the offer to Jacobs' manager and hopes to finalize a deal quickly.
De La Hoya said the deadline will be mid-June.
Alvarez and Golovkin met in September 2017 in a fight that drew 1.3 million pay-per-view buys and ended with a controversial draw. The anticipated rematch had been set for May 5 in Las Vegas, but Alvarez twice tested positive for a banned substance in February that he blamed on eating contaminated beef.
The rematch was scrapped and Alvarez was suspended for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
After Golovkin fought Vanes Martirosyan on May 5 and earned around $1 million for a division record-tying 20th consecutive title defense, Loeffler tried to reschedule the rematch with De La Hoya, initially agreeing to a revenue split that would pay Alvarez 65 percent and Golovkin 35 percent, but Golovkin had a change of heart before the deal was signed.
"What people are not understanding is I am not going to come off my demands for the rematch," De La Hoya said. "The fact that GGG is stubborn on a 50-50 split and it's ludicrous. It's never going to happen. He wants 50-50 and it's never going to happen. We had already come to terms and they had the contracts a long time, several weeks, and now he wants 50-50?"
Despite De La Hoya saying that the Golden Boy camp has moved on, Loeffler remains optimistic that the rematch can happen.
"Oscar is kind of all over the place on this," Loeffler said, according to Martin Rogers of USA TODAY Sports. "One day he is saying the fight is nearly made, then he is talking about putting Canelo in with (WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders) or Jacobs.
"I am talking to Eric (Gomez) and I am hoping we can come to a conclusion. It doesn't seem to be too complicated, it is still the biggest fight out there for both guys."