In other news, appears that the reported $10 million flat fee offer that has been made to Golovkin from Golden Boy is not going to be increased. If Golovkin wants the fight, then he’ll need to accept that offer. If not, then Golden Boy will take Canelo in another direction towards other fighters.
De La Hoya says they’re not going to chase Golovkin any longer. Canelo is going to fight twice in early 2017, and then in September in what he hopes will be against Golovkin. If De La Hoya is serious about not wanting to pursue the Golovkin fight for Canelo any longer, then that’s going to be interesting to see. The boxing public is going to continue to apply pressure on Golden Boy and Canelo for them to make the Golovkin fight.
It might not be a good idea for Golden Boy to put Golovkin on ignore, because it could stunt Canelo’s career and hurt his pay-per-view totals, which are heading downwards. We saw how Manny Pacquiao’s pay-per-view numbers started dropping off after 2012, when his promoter Bob Arum stopped matching him against guys the boxing fans wanted to see. It was only when Pacquiao fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. that his PPV totals increased. Now that fight is over, Arum is once again matching Pacquiao against guys in non-compelling fights and his PPV totals are dropping again.
It’s in Canelo’s best interest for him to fight Golovkin so that he can become a crossover star in the U.S rather than being a star with a segment of the population. Canelo needs Golovkin’s scalp for him to get to the next level to become a true pay-per-view attraction. De La Hoya says that Canelo has replayed Mayweather as boxing’s top pay-per-view fighter, but he’s not a good replacement in terms of the pay-per-view numbers he’s brought in with him as the A-side.De La Hoya said this to ESPN Deportes about the Canelo vs. Golovkin fight:
“Golovkin says he’s not about the money. Let’s make the fight for the people, for the public. The arrangements can be made, so there is no problem, but you have to make the fight. Look, the one who is running here is Golovkin. Maybe he doesn’t know how much is being offered. So the money is there to make the fight.”
The only time that Canelo has brought in big pay-per-view numbers is when he had an opponent that was either more popular than him or almost as popular in Miguel Cotto and Mayweather. For Canelo to get to the level of Mayweather, he needs to fight guys like Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs and beat them. Canelo isn’t going to become a huge star defeating guys like Liam Smith, Amir Khan, Alfredo Angulo and James Kirkland. Those are record-padding opposition, and not nearly good enough to turn Canelo into a crossover star in the U.S.
You can see from what De La Hoya is saying that the flat fee offer of eight figures that was given to Golovkin appears to be final for September 2017. It’s now up to Golovkin and his promoters to decide whether they want to accept that offer or not. Golden Boy has the 34-year-old Golovkin in a tough situation, because they can wait him out until he gets old and is starting to take losses. Once that happens, the $10 million offer for a fight against Canelo will likely be reduced to a smaller amount.
Golovikin won’t be in the position to decide whatever offer that is given to him, considering that his opportunities will start to dwindle as age sets in. Canelo is only 26 right now. He’s probably got another seven years before he starts to get beaten by the top guys at 160. Even then, Golden Boy can keep Canelo from losing by being careful who they match him against. We’re already seeing that Golden Boy isn’t matching Canelo against the talented 154lb fighters like the Charlo brothers and Demetrius Andrade.
If the Canelo vs. Golovkin fight is one that can bring in over $100 million, then it’s not in Golovkin’s best interest to agree to flat fee of $10 million. He’s better off taking a percentage deal so that he can share in the money the fight makes. He can’t share if he’s given a flat fee ahead of time for a fight that could make huge money.“We are no longer chasing Golovkin and his team,” said De La Hoya. They’re playing games, that’s all. Canelo will continue his career, he will fight in January or February, depending on the hand, and then go fight in May and September, and hopefully September will be the fight with Golovkin.”
