Canelo-GGG rematch off after Alvarez, facing suspension, withdraws

The rematch that would have kicked the boxing schedule into high gear for the summer is now officially dead.

With the prospect of a suspension looming over him, Canelo Alvarez made it official on Tuesday, using a press conference to announce that he had withdrawn from his May 5 rematch with Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin.

The rematch was scheduled to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and would have potentially settled the score between the two popular middleweights, who fought to a draw last September. However, it had been hanging by a thread since Alvarez tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol, and Canelo simply put the bout out of its misery with his statements at the presser.

“I am truly shocked about what has happened, and for those who have doubts and suspicions about my integrity I have always been and always will be clean fighter,” Alvarez said via ESPN.com. “I want to apologize to HBO, (sponsors) Tecate and Hennessy and all my other sponsors, the media and to everyone who is involved in the promotion of this event and especially to the fans. I respect this sport. I will always be a clean fighter.”

Alvarez and his team have maintained that they believed the positive test was due to tainted meat the boxer ate while training in his native Mexico, where such contamination has been a problem over the past few years. However, the Nevada State Athletic Commission temporarily suspended Canelo in the wake of the positive test and later filed a complaint against him, actions the organization usually takes before levying discipline against a boxer.

A hearing on April 18 will determine Canelo’s fate, though ESPN’s Dan Rafael believe he will be suspended for at least six months, retroactive to the date of the test. If six months is indeed the punishment, he’d be able to return to action near the end of the summer.

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In the meantime, Golovkin will fight someone, either on May 5 or shortly thereafter. While GGG is an attraction in his own right, a showdown with someone other than Canelo figures to be a much smaller deal to the general public and casual boxing fans, and only the rematch, if and when it takes place down the road, will live up to what would have taken place next month.