Gomez: Canelo Will Start Testing Once Deal’s Done for GGG Fight
By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Gennady Golovkin and his handlers want to know when Canelo Alvarez will resume testing for performance-enhancing drugs.
They slammed the suspended superstar before and after Golovkin’s second-round knockout of Vanes Martirosyan on Saturday night because Alvarez hasn’t been tested for PEDs since his temporary suspension was extended to six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on April 18.
Golovkin and his trainer, Abel Sanchez, have been very vocal about Alvarez’s need to begin proving he is a clean boxer by re-enrolling in the WBC’s “Clean Boxing Program” as soon as possible.
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According to Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez, Alvarez is willing to partake in as many blood and urine tests as necessary as soon as contracts are signed for their middleweight championship rematch. Alvarez wants to reschedule their second fight for September 15, the date the former two-division champion announced last month that he’ll return to the ring.
“If we have a deal done, he’ll start when the contracts get signed,” Gomez told BoxingScene.com on Wednesday during a press event for the Sadam Ali-Jaime Munguia fight Saturday night in Verona, New York. “If that’s what they want, we’ll do it like that. Canelo has no problem doing that. We went above and beyond to prove that this is an accident. So all the proper protocols will be in place. There are no issues there.”
Alvarez, Gomez and Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya believe Alvarez has proven that contaminated meat was the source of him twice testing positive for clenbuterol in February. The former middleweight and junior middleweight champion underwent testing on his hair follicles that they contend should absolve Alvarez from any intentional wrongdoing.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission still suspended him for six months April 18. Two weeks earlier, Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) withdrew from his high-profile, pay-per-view rematch against Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) because he was advised that the NSAC would rule against allowing him to fight Golovkin again Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
De La Hoya told TMZ.com two weeks ago that Alvarez would be tested from that point through the night of his rematch against Golovkin.
Sanchez and Golovkin have heavily criticized Alvarez for failing to do that. Golovkin went as far last week as to tell BoxingScene.com that Alvarez is a “dirty fighter” and “the largest problem that we have in boxing.”
Gomez downplayed the testing controversy and stressed that it won’t impact negotiations for their rematch.
“Look, all that testing stuff, he’s gonna do what he always does,” Gomez said. “He always tests for every fight. Look at his history. He’s gonna continue to test for the rest of his career. All the proper protocols will be in place for all of his fights, so that’s no issue at all.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
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