Who Really Won In The Canelo-Golovkin Rematch Negotiations?

By Andreas Hale

Finally.

After what felt like an eternity of posturing by the parties representing Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin, the two sides finally came to an agreement for a rematch that will take place on September 15th at T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a tenuous back and forth that nearly didn’t come to fruition after Golovkin failed to meet the noon deadline set by Golden Boy Promotions. But just as quickly as the window closed, it was pried back open with a “Hail Mary” attempt to secure the deal.

The fight is now locked in and fight fans can begin debating who will win the rematch after a controversial draw in their first meeting. But the real battle has already been won by Golovkin.

To many, it may appear that GGG acquiesced to Canelo’s demands in order to get the rematch signed, sealed and delivered. However, if you really look at how this all transpired, you can see that GGG really came out on top.

When the two initially met last September, the revenue split was 70-30 in favor of Canelo. The fight ending in a draw didn’t help matters much when it came to the rematch that was originally scheduled for May 5th. Golovkin managed to snare a little bit extra with a 65-35 revenue split. Canelo was still the bigger attraction but there was no denying that Golovkin had built a strong following as well.

But then a pair of failed drug tests derailed the rematch and saw Canelo get suspended for six months. No matter how many ways you slice it, what was easily the biggest fight of the year had been squandered by Canelo. Some believed that Canelo didn’t intentionally ingest clanbuterol and it was a result of eating tainted meat. Others weren’t buying it, including Golovkin.

A man of few words, Golovkin went on the offensive when news broke that Canelo failed a drug test. GGG’s commentary on the situation was very blunt and went so far as suggesting that he could see where Canelo injected PEDs into his arms. It was very much the opposite of the Golovkin that we have come to know as a respectful individual who doesn’t say anything controversial. But you can understand why the undefeated middleweight would be incensed by Canelo’s actions. After all, Golovkin isn’t getting any younger while Canelo can afford to put GGG on ice for another year in hopes of seeing the Kazakhstani fighter’s skills deteriorate.

Golovkin was fed up and went on the assault. Indirectly, it added a narrative to the fight that didn’t exist earlier. Before, the fight was simply about two of the biggest fighters meeting in the middle of the ring. But now there was a new narrative that as headlined by bad blood between the two fighters. It’s certain that Canelo didn’t take kindly to GGG’s words and there’s no doubt that Golovkin was looking to gain revenge in the rematch and is irked by the idea that Canelo might have been cheating to gain an edge.

With a new angle added to the fight, Canelo-GGG 2 is certain to do better in the PPV department than their original meeting. Not to mention that there isn’t a Mayweather-McGregor fight less than a month before it that very likely affected sales. Golovkin knew where he was at from a negotiating standpoint and asked for an even split of the purse. Even if it sounds preposterous considering the previous split, no good negotiator lowballs themselves. Instead, go high and hope for somewhere between what you asked for you and what you’ll accept.

Meanwhile, Oscar De La Hoya choose social media as his war room. He told anybody that would listen that unless GGG backed down, Team Canelo was fully prepared to move on to another opponent for September 15th. Daniel Jacobs’ name was immediately factored into the equation but that fight would truly be high risk/low reward for Canelo. Jacobs is an incredibly dangerous opponent that could completely derail plans for a Canelo-GGG 2 should Jacobs come out victorious. Nevertheless, it’s what Golden Boy teased to the boxing community. But Golovkin wouldn’t budge. As the days passed, Golden Boy tried to play hardball but their offer noticeably increased. Instead of 65-35, the split climbed to 60-40. Team Golovkin knew that the game Golden Boy was playing wasn’t working. They stuck to their guns and were offered a 57.5-42.5 split and given a noon deadline on Wednesday to accept.

Although we’re not entirely sure what the final number ended up being, it’s obvious that GGG got more than what Golden Boy originally offered. By sticking to his guns and being keenly aware of the hype surrounding the fight, he know Golden Boy didn’t have many places to go for September 15th without looking bad to the boxing public. Especially if they ended up fighting Spike O’Sullivan.

So, De La Hoya finally backed down and the two sides came to an agreement at the 13th hour. For Golovkin, it’s a very favorable position. He’s 36 years old and knows that his time left in the boxing game is limited. Waiting another six months to a year to face Canelo works more in his Mexican opponent’s favor than it does his. But now he gets what he wants, is going off of a huge knockout victory over Vanes Martirosyan and could be the sharper fighter when they meet in September.

No punches have been thrown just yet, but you can give Gennady Golovkin the first round on the scorecards.