Refunds available for Canelo-GGG rematch, casting even more doubt
By Nick Tylwalk
The much anticipated rematch for middleweight boxing supremacy seems to be teetering even more on the edge now that the T-Mobile Arena is offering refunds to fans who purchased tickets.
The boxing world would prefer not to hear it, but the second meeting between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin is looking less likely to actually happen on May 5 by the day.
The concern about Canelo-GGG II being scuttled has been real ever since Alvarez failed a World Anti-Doping Agency test that found a banned substance in his blood sample. Canelo’s camp played that off as a byproduct of tainted meat, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended the boxer as a result of the failed test, putting the rematch in jeopardy.
We’ve now moved beyond that to serious jeopardy, DEFCON 1 or whatever other term you want to use, with Gilbert Manzano of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reporting (via Jack Jorgensen of CBS Sports) that the T-Mobile Arena, the venue for the site, is now offering ticket buyers full refunds if desired.
Full refunds are now available for those who purchased #CaneloGGG2 tickets for May 5 @TMobileArena, according to an MGM official. This fight is in serious jeopardy, fight fans #Boxing
— Gilberto Manzano (@GManzano24) March 28, 2018
As Jorgensen notes, it doesn’t mean the rematch is definitely off, but it does mean it hangs in the balance on April 10. That’s the date Canelo has his hearing with the NSAC and will learn whether his suspension will be lifted or he’s going to be unable to box in Nevada in May.
Since some states honor each other’s suspensions, a last-second venue change, in addition to the obvious logistical hurdles, seems unlikely. There have also been reports of other boxers being considered as potential Alvarez replacements if that becomes necessary, with Spike O’Sullivan and Demetrius Andrade, who told BoxingScene he’d be up for the challenge of a scrap with GGG, among the names thrown around.
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Still, the thought of the Canelo-GGG rematch falling apart so close to its scheduled date is a bummer, one that could at least temporarily derail a year in boxing that got off to a promising start. Get your money back if you must, but otherwise cross your fingers that the fight can still come together.