Canelo Alvarez v. GGG II set for May 5th. Will it take place in NYC?

Boxing had a big year in 2017. After Mayweather v. McGregor gave the sport some much-needed media attention, Canelo Avarez and Gennady Golovkin blew the door down. The two warriors went into the ring on September 16th in Las Vegas and put on an absolute clinic. Fans witnessed something special that night, so it was only fitting they were treated to an encore. Avarez’s (49-1-2) promotor, Golden Boy Promotions (led by Oscar De La Hoya) and Golovkin’s (37-0-1) promotor Tom Oeffler announced to ESPN that Alvarez v. GGG II will take place on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo. The site of the fight is TBD.

While an automatic rematch was questioned by us here at Double G Sports, it almost felt inevitable. Oscar De La Hoya spoke to the media regarding the announcement, stating:

“Canelo vs. Golovkin II will be boxing’s biggest and best event of 2018 as these two elite fighters once again go head-to-head to determine who is the best middleweight in the world. I expect we will see even more fireworks in the rematch as both fighters know there more is at stake now than before.”

This is considered one of the most anticipated rematches for a variety of reasons. A main one being how it ended in controversy. It appeared that the fight ended in GGG’s favor, but judges scored the fight 118-110 for Alvarez, 115-113 for GGG and a 114-114 split. As a result, the fight ended in a draw. The huge difference in the first score card was by Adalaide Byrd, only giving GGG two rounds. It is assumed that she will not allowed to judge this fight again.

Looking to put everything behind them after May 5th, Canelo v. GGG should be one decided by the fighters. With enough passion by the both of them, they could make history while also out upstaging their first encounter.

Empire State of Mind?

As previously mentioned, the site for the fight is TBD. What we do know is that the event will be at 8pm on HBO PPV. Two rumored venues for the rematch are the T-Mobile Arena and Madison Square Garden. For many years, New York was a true special place for boxing events to take place in. In previous years however, Las Vegas has become the de-facto home for boxing and MMA. Oscar De La Hoya, the true decision-maker, spoke to ESPN regarding a destination for Alvarez v. GGG II. It appears that he might have already made a decision however.

“The Garden is being very, very aggressive. But I have to admit, I obviously have to consider and give my partners at the MGM [owner of T-Mobile Arena] the first shot. An event like this shouldn’t take place any place other than Las Vegas because of the hotels, the closed circuit [locations] and the entertainment the city has to offer. There are a lot of factors that come into play, but we will really get into it next week.”

The first fight drew over 22,000 people at the T-Mobile Arena, while the gate was over $27,000,000. Impressive numbers to say the least, hence the bias of wanting Las Vegas for the fight. However, boxing is not dead in New York. Brooklyn Boxing and Entertainment manages to hold a variety of fantastic fights. Miguel Cotto’s last fight took place in New York, and Deontay Wilder will be fighting again in Brooklyn in a few months. New York can still draw when it comes to boxing, and The Big Apple can prove it if it were to get Alvarez v. GGG II.

It will be interesting to see where the fight will be held. The bout should also be a war. Hopefully, this time a true decision will be made.