Gennadiy Golovkin faces Sergiy Derevyanchenko this weekend for the IBF middleweight title that Saul "Canelo" Alvarez was forced to vacate. That seemingly would present the necessary ingredients to secure a GGG-Canelo trilogy fight. But as of now, that prospect doesn't look too promising.
Last week, when Golovkin's name was brought up regarding a trilogy fight, Alvarez jabbed his rival with stinging comments.
"Because he has nothing to offer me," Alvarez told DAZN when asked why he didn't want to fight Golovkin on Sept. 14. "I already beat him twice.
"I thought I beat him the first time, and the second time as well," the WBA middleweight champion continued. "He has nothing to offer me. I already beat him twice. Why fight him a third time?"
Alvarez even believes Golovkin defeating Derevyanchenko to claim the IBF title Saturday night wouldn't be enough to land the trilogy; he doubled down on his belief GGG doesn't have anything to offer him. That, and the fact Alvarez is moving up two weight classes to face WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev on Nov. 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
When asked about facing Alvarez for a third time, Golovkin seemed to throw his hands in the air and express doubt himself, saying it's more on his rival than him.
"Is he really ready? (Then, it's) possible," GGG told ESPN. "He's talked so much. He's talked like a promoter."
Despite the current doubt from both camps, one has to figure Golovkin winning the IBF title Saturday night could set up a trilogy fight with Alvarez, regardless of the Mexican fighter's result against Kovalev this November. Alvarez did tell Mannix during the same DAZN interview that he'll be back at middleweight, regardless of the outcome.
Fighters' current feelings aside, the public demand for a third and final fight between the fighters should be there for a 2020 bout in what's sure to be a grand payday for both. As of now, the question of whether Canelo and GGG will compete the trilogy has to be temporarily tabled.
Despite Alvarez's comments to DAZN, many boxing pundits and fans alike believe Golovkin defeated him in their original September 2017 clash and was robbed of a victory due to judge Adalaide Byrd's inexplicable 118-110 scorecard in favor of Alvarez. That bout was ruled a split draw.
In addition, some even felt like Golovkin did enough to win their rematch last September, although Alvarez's walking down of the Kazakh warrior paved the way for that majority decision win in a clearly better performance.