Canelo has plenty of other options apart from Golovkin, fight won't happen: Teddy Atlas

Veteran trainer Teddy Atlas does not believe a fight between Gennady Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will happen because the Mexican champ has too many options to make big money than a fight with the undefeated Kazakh.

This year is set for a massive showdown between Alvarez, the WBC middleweight champion, and Golovkin, the unified middleweight titlist from Kazakhstan. However, according to Atlas, who currently trains former light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, the much-anticipated match between the two champs is unlikely to take place because of Alvarez’s ability to make good money against any other opponents.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen because Canelo has too many options,” Atlas told Fight Hype. “He can make money. He has a great, great, great, great Latino fan base, and he has too many places where he can make money fighting.”

Alvarez established his status as one of the top draws in the sport after his match against Miguel Cotto became a hit, earning them 900,000 pay-per-view buys. Considering his position now, the 25-year-old Mexican can opt for weaker opponents yet still earn a substantial amount of PPV buys.

According to Dan Ambrose of Boxing News 24, Canelo vs Golovkin will happen, but not until the Kazakh knockout artist becomes older and weaker. Ambrose noted that Alvarez could afford to wait until the 33-year-old Golovkin gets older because of his ability to generate huge numbers even against weaker and smaller foes.

However, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman feels confident Canelo vs Golovkin will push through later this year, which is believed to take place sometime in September. Sulaiman told Boxing Scene that both fighters want the fight, insisting that it is a “natural showdown” with both boxers eager to meet inside the ring.

“We don’t speculate with comments of third-parties as the WBC is guided only by facts,” Sulaiman added. “The idea and the plan is to have the expected fight after their voluntary defenses in April or May.”