It seems that the controversy surrounding the first fight between Canelo and GGG has now spilled outside the ring as the highly anticipated rematch will not be taking place on May 5th, 2018 in Las Vegas. Canelo Alvarez withdrew himself from his scheduled rematch with Golovkin as a result of two positive doping tests with traces of the banned steroid substance Clenbuterol in his system. Many (including myself) are highly disappointed in the outcome of this, however it seems Alvarez is voluntarily withdrawing early to hopefully fall into the good graces of the Nevada Athletic Commission.
They’re scheduled to determine the fate of Alvarez on April 18th at a hearing in which the Nevada State Athletic Commission will announce their decision. Many are hoping that the Alvarez ban and punishment won’t extend beyond 6 months as a potential rematch date could land in September during Mexican Independence Day Weekend. Alvarez is clearly frustrated by the situation and visibly upset, but he wants to be as transparent as possible with the process.
Canelo indicated that “he has nothing to hide and he’ll do whatever he needs to do to demonstrate he never deliberately has taken the substance to gain an advantage”. Golden Boy promotions president Eric Gomez stated that the match would be cancelled, however GGG”s camp and promoter Tom Loeffler stated that Golovkin will still fight on May 5th vs an undisclosed opponent at this time. Whoever that fighter will be, it clearly won’t live up to the hype of that anticipated matchup of Canelo vs Golovkin.
Alvarez and his camp are clearly embarrassed about this situation and he will definitely take the proper measures in the future from this happening again. Unfortunately for all you boxing fans out there, you’ll have the put the popcorn, soda, and pay per view on hold for a while.