Boxing
Oscar De La Hoya says Gennadiy Golovkin 'has to be' one of Canelo Alvarez's opponents in 2020
The one fight boxing fans wanted to see in 2019 was the trilogy between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin.
The two stars fought to a split draw in September 2017. One year later, Alvarez won a narrow majority decision. They appeared to be on a collision course toward another September clash for the third consecutive year, but a deal never came together.
That begs the question: Will they ever step foot inside the ring with one another? Alvarez's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, feels the fight must take place in 2020, and even heaped praise toward GGG, who will meet Sergiy Derevyanchenko for the vacant IBF middleweight title on Oct. 5 on DAZN.
"Well, he (Golovkin) will be one of the opponents for next year," De La Hoya told DAZN's Chris Mannix during Saturday's broadcast of the Jaime Munguia-Patrick Allotey card. "He has to be. Obviously, the people want to see it. The world wants to see it, and Golovkin deserves it."
On Friday, it was announced that Alvarez would make the trek up two weight classes to challenge Sergey Kovalev for the WBO light heavyweight title on Nov. 2.
"It’s a dangerous fight," De La Hoya said. "It’s a bold move from Canelo, but that’s why Canelo is Canelo. That’s why people love Canelo. That’s why Canelo is boxing’s face, boxing’s star. Come Nov. 2, will we see history in the making, or will we see Kovalev walking through Canelo because of his height, his weight, and his power?"
The relationship between De La Hoya and Alvarez has been under the microscope of late, following the Golovkin situation and the failed negotiations for a proposed bout with Alvarez and Derevyanchenko. Alvarez wasn't fully involved in the talks, and the Mexican star was stripped of the IBF belt when a fight with Derevyanchenko didn't happen. That led to Alvarez tweeting his displeasure toward De La Hoya and the promotion.
How are things going these days with De La Hoya and his biggest star?
"We have a great working relationship," De La Hoya said. "I consider him a friend. We got this fight done. It took a lot of struggles because of other promoters getting involved. I’m glad we got it done."
