LOS ANGELES — Gennady Golovkin and his team have received a final offer to fight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September or a bout with former middleweight world champion Daniel Jacobs will be pursued, according to Golden Boy Promotions.
First reported by ESPN, Eric Gomez, who is the president of Golden Boy, said that the divide will be 57½-42½ in favor of Alvarez, and Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) has until Wednesday, June 13, to accept the deal.
“No more playing games,” Gomez told ESPN. “He has until noon (PT) to accept or walk away. If he walks away, good luck to him.”
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golvkin during their first bout in 2017 that ended in a draw. Photo: Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos – Golden Boy Promotions
Golovkin received a 30-70 split in their first matchup last September and was able to secure a higher share in the rematch before Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) was flagged for failing two voluntary drug tests, which ultimately cancelled the event. Nevertheless, the failed tests put Golovkin and his team in a better position to negotiate in the last few months.
A major sticking point following Alvarez’s failed tests was that he needed to enroll in year-round drug testing, according to Golovkin’s camp. After some back and forth through the media, Alvarez finally agreed to the testing, and a 65-35 monetary split (in favor of Alvarez) was agreed upon from Kazakhstan’s Golovkin. After a few weeks though, Golovkin seemingly changed his mind and decided he wanted an even 50-50 split, which eventually frustrated Golden Boy and caused this final offer to be made.
“Our original deal in May for the rematch was 35 percent to Golovkin. Then they wanted 50-50, which was ridiculous to begin with,” Gomez added.
Tom Loeffler, who promotes Golovkin, said that he would relay the offer to him, as he is the final say in this whole ordeal. However, Loeffler added that the fighter is currently in Moscow for the opening ceremonies of the World Cup, and he would send an email and hopefully speak to him during the [Russia] morning hours.
