Canelo ready for Golovkin grudge match: It's personal. He talk a lot of sh@t

While promoting his November 2019 light heavyweight title bout against Sergey Kovalev, Saul’ Canelo’ Alvarez stated that a third bout against arch-nemesis Gennadiy Golovkin no longer presented a challenge but left the door open in the case a good business opportunity presented itself.

It appears that time has now come.

Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) spoke to reporters in San Diego after formally announcing his WBA light heavyweight title fight versus Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs). The bout will headline a May 7 DAZN Pay-Per-View event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“We have this [two-fight] deal; they wanted a fight with Golovkin. So I said, ‘Why not? Everybody wants that fight, right?’

“Maybe a little late, maybe not. Everybody still wants that fight.”

Guadalajara’s Alvarez will first have to be successful in his bid to become a two-time light heavyweight titlist against Bivol. Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) also has to get past Ryota Murata in their April 9 IBF/WBA middleweight title unification in Saitama, Japan. Should both fighters win, Golovkin would move up in weight for the first time in his career to challenge Alvarez in a grudge match for the undisputed super middleweight world championship.

Alvarez and Golovkin first fought to a disputed 12-round draw in September 2017. They were initially scheduled to rematch the following May, but Alvarez twice tested positive for clenbuterol and was subsequently suspended six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Golovkin wound up facing former junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan, knocking him out in the second round.

Meanwhile, Golovkin and his team labeled him a drug cheat, despite Alvarez submitting a hair sample and receipts to prove he accidentally ingested the substance through contaminated meat—a well-known issue in Mexico.

Alvarez answered back with a majority decision victory over Golovkin to hand him his first defeat along with ending his 160-pound title reign.

Golovkin has remained steadfast in his belief that he won both fights, particularly their first encounter.

“Yeah, [it’s personal]. He talks a lot of shit. He talks a lot of sh!t,” insists Alvarez. “He talk a lot of things. But we’ll see.

“First things first. We still have to win May 7. I am focused 100 percent on this fight. And it’s not an easy fight. It’s a hard fight for me. But [I’m] 100 percent [focused on] this fight, and then we’ll talk about that fight.”