The likes of Tom Loeffler, Abel Sanchez, GGG and HBO would have surely been informed of Canelo’s PED test failure at least several days prior to VADA’s official announcement to the media, which means that they would have had more than six weeks to sort out the situation and prepare a contingency plan (for a bout scheduled to take place nine weeks later).
The thing is, the same day that VADA announced that Canelo had tested positive for banned substances, the Mexican was commencing the first day of his training camp and it’s inevitable that GGG would have begun his own training around the same date.
Loeffler also confirmed that Golovkin began sparring around the 2nd April against right-handers, which means that a southpaw opponent won’t be considered. Therefore, GGG’s team could have commenced negotiations for a potential bout against one of the orthodox world-ranked fighters almost six weeks ago.
As far as I’m aware, the likes of Saunders, Jacobs, Charlo, Andrade & Derevyanchenko haven’t been contacted by GGG’s team, yet they’ve all expressed an interest in facing the Kazakh (of course, one or two of these fighters are southpaws, but given the timelines, Golovkin could have easily prepared to face that style).
Here’s a timeline of events:
• 17/02/18 - Canelo provided a urine sample to VADA
• 20/02/18 - Canelo provided a second urine sample to VADA
• 03/03/18 - It was announced to the media that Canelo tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol, as per the results from the tests performed on the 17th & 20th February
• 19/03/18 - Gennady Golovkin proposes the idea of facing Billy Joe Saunders if Canelo is suspended
• 21/03/18 - GGG behaves out-of-character and labels Canelo as being a drug “cheat”, with some members of the media suggesting that such claims could jeopardize their Cinco de Mayo rematch (hinting at a possible suspension for Canelo)
• 23/03/18 – Abel Sanchez claims that he's not worried if Canelo withdraws from the bout, because they have a backup plan
• 24/03/18 - The NSAC temporarily suspends Canelo, with the Mexican scheduled to attend a hearing at the commission on the 10th April, 2018
• 25/03/18 - HBO declines to use the Whyte-Browne telecast to promote the GGG-Canelo PPV rematch, due to the uncertainty surrounding the bout
• 26/03/18 - Tom Loeffler confirms that GGG will fight on the 5th May regardless as to whether he'll be facing Canelo or not
• 29/03/18 - The NSAC files a formal complaint and schedules a disciplinary hearing for the 18th April, 2018
• 03/04/18 - Canelo Alvarez officially withdraws from Gennady Golovkin rematch
• 05/04/18 - The NSAC refuse to sanction Mexico’s Jamie Munguia as Gennady Golovkin's opponent for his Cinco De May fight date
• 09/04/18 – Tom Loeffler admits that five men are in the running to face GGG on the 5th May, with guys like Vanes Martirosyan, Jamie Munguia and Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan being frequently discussed by the media for several weeks
• 10/04/18 – Vanes Martirosyan is rejected for Golovkin fight by the IBF, WBA and WBC
• 11/04/18 – Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan declines the opportunity to fight GGG due to insufficient preparation time and receiving an inadequate offer. Bob Arum confirms that ESPN won't be paying HBO to televise GGG's bout on the 5th May. And Tom Loeffler admits to having doubts about Golovkin's ability to fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend
For the record, the purpose of this post isn’t intended to criticise GGG on a personal level, but merely the manner in which his team have dealt with their contingency plan, because we’re only three weeks away from the 5th May fight date and no opponent has been announced yet.
Thoughts?
