The winner of the highly anticipated fight between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez will be the universally recognized middleweight world champion — No. 1 at 160 pounds — and undoubtedly will move up the pound-for-pound list.
But Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) announced Friday he will not accept all of the sanctioning organization belts that Golovkin has, should he win the bout. Alvarez, who has had a poor relationship with the WBC for the past few years, said he will not take its title belt if he beats GGG on Sept. 16 (on HBO PPV) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Alvarez will challenge for Golovkin’s WBA and IBF titles.
“I am very proud to be fighting for these important titles in this fight,” Alvarez said. “This will be the best boxing event of the year, and I know all of the fans from Mexico and beyond will come out and enjoy the fight as I defend my lineal and Ring magazine titles and take home the WBA and IBF championships.”
Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs), however, will defend all of his belts, so if he loses the fight, the WBC title would become vacant.
“GGG will be proudly defending all of his titles … as well as looking to add The Ring magazine title to his collection when he steps into the ring against Canelo,” said Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter.
“Fans love this matchup. It’s not only the two best fighters in their division fighting each other in their prime, but also two of the most marketable fighters in the sport.”
