155 lb era at Middleweight officially ends! Boxing News
Upon Saul "Canelo"Alvarez capturing the WBC and lineal Middleweight championship crowns against Miguel Cotto in 2015, many boxing enthusiasts considered it the first step in setting up another much-needed blockbuster fight in the sport of boxing between he and knockout phenom Gennady "GGG" Golovkin.
The two champions previously sparred one another in the past and the back and forth discussions in the media between both camps only made the bout seem inevitable. However, hopes for the mega-fight took a drastic turn for the worse earlier in the week as Saul "Canelo" Alvarez opted to vacate his WBC title, thus making Golovkin the WBC Middleweight champion in full as he was already recognized as the interim titlist.
What looms for both Alvarez and GGG is very much up in the air still. With the WBC mandate out of the way, it is believed that negotiations between GGG and Alvarez will continue and should be easier to manage as both teams have expressed interest negotiating a bout between the two foes. As for the rest of the middleweight division; it can now get back to the business of distinguishing itself as its own standout weight class after the last 2 years have been marred by lineal championship reigns by boxers from lower divisions who did not consider themselves 160 pound fighters (Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez).
With GGG now recognized as the WBC Middleweight champion, there is one belt left for him to capture to succeed in his quest to unify the division. The lone title that he is unable to list on his resume at the moment is the WBO belt, which belongs to Billy Joe Saunders. K2 Promotions (promoter of Gennady Golovkin) previously offered the match for Saunders, but the offer was not accepted. Since initial talks, Saunders has stated that he would be willing to face GGG in the UK. Whether those talks are serious or not, remains to be seen as Billy Joe Saunders has yet to defend his WBO crown since winning it from Andy Lee in December of last year. Another possible foe for GGG is WBA regular-champion Daniel Jacobs. The WBA has been in efforts to consolidate their belt count (a good thing for boxing), and a fight between the super-champ Gennady Golovin and regular champ Daniel Jacobs would be a means of reaching that goal. However, this is a fight that may not come to fruition immediately as Jacobs is expected to appear on the undercard of Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton in July at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
For the young Alvarez, there are several marquee matchups that could be made for him in the junior middleweight division. The 154-pound division is loaded with talent, however for Canelo, most of the notable names in the division come with high risk-low reward stakes. This makes the whole concept of "Canelo-weight" more intriguing to watch over the next few months. Alvarez, who is known to balloon up in weight after weigh-ins, will either have to make a full-fledged step up to a division he has clearly grown into (Middleweight), or take on some of the young guns at Super Welterweight such as the Charlo Twins, Julian "J-Rock" Williams, Demetrius "Boo-Boo" Andrade and Erislandy Lara.