THE MIDDLEWEIGHT SOAP OPERA

June 7th, 2014. That's when the soap opera began. 

A 155 pound Miguel Cotto took on the WBC, Ring Magazine, Lineal Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez. Maravilla was always thought of as a small Middleweight, and he himself tipped the scales at 158.75 pounds at weigh ins. However, Cotto, who was always thought of as a small Light Middleweight fighter, was coming up in weight for the challenge. Sergio reigned supreme at 160 for years, but looked ripe for the picking after various knee injuries and lack luster performances in his latest title defenses. Martinez just did not look like he was at 100%, and after a 3 knockdown first, Cotto cruised his way to a dominant TKO victory, in what was arguably his best performance as a fighter. Cotto was one of the biggest names in boxing at the time, and had an abundance of options for his first defense. Cotto was pretty adamant that he would remain at Middleweight and defend his newly acquired titles, but on his terms. Almost immediately, the boxing world was talking about someone who fought just one pound away at 154. His name was Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. 

After Cotto's catcheweight defense against Daniel Geale that no one wanted to watch, the obvious fight to make was Cotto-Canelo. Puerto Rico vs Mexico. Cinco de Mayo weekend. The narrative wrote itself. This fight was box office. This fight was one everyone called for. This was the fight to see who is king at Middleweight. Just one little thing, the fight was again at a 155 catchweight. This naturally brought about scrutiny from the avid boxing fan, to the long time analysts. It appeared as if Cotto was holding the 160 strap hostage, 5 pounds under the weight limit. That said, Cotto was King, and the King demanded and received. As expected, the much bigger Canelo (who was thought to be outgrowing the Light Middleweight division) was able absorb a game Cotto's best shots, as well as land the heavier shots. Size and youth prevailed, and we had a new, somewhat disputed, King at Middleweight...minus 5 pounds. Lurking in the background  however, was some heavy handed, avoided fighter named Gennady Golovkin. 

After yet another catchweight defense against Amir Khan (which in my humble opinion, Canelo was losing until he laid the Thor hammer) Canelo was feeling the pressure to take on Golovkin. If he is the champ at 160, fight at 160 and fight Golovkin. Analysts and fans alike were all clamoring this narrative. Canelo's response? Drop the green strap, and fight for another belt at 154. A move that was seen as running from the best in the division. Was this all Oscar's doing? After all, I'm sure he didn't want to lose his cash cow, (beef joke, more on this later) and a slow and proper build up to an epic showdown with Golovkin was in order. Canelo banged around the much smaller Liam Smith, while Golovkin did the same to the much smaller Kell Brook. In this case however, Golovkin looked vunerable for the first time in years, while Canelo looked invincible. 

Boxing is a business as we all know, and much of business is protecting our investments. Bob had Manny. Floyd has...himself. Oscar has Canelo.  He always said he would fight anyone they put in front of him, and who knows if that included Golovkin. What we do know, is Oscar seemed more keen to the idea of a match with GGG when Daniel Jacobs almost dethroned him with a brilliant performance. Jacobs pretty much lost due to an early knockdown, that cost him the decision by one point. Golovkin looked vulnerable once again. Was father time landing some jabs on GGG? Canelo made his full fledged Middleweight debut against, oddly enough, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who is more suited for Super Middleweight. After dismantling him for 12 rounds, the fight we all wanted, was on. 

Canelo - GGG.  September 16th, 2017. The soap opera was set to end. We would find out definitively, who was the better fighter, and the king at 160. Canelo has been on the grand stage before, but GGG has never fought a fight of this magnitude. How did he handle it? By imposing his will on Canelo. It was clear that Canelo had the slight edge in hand speed, but it seemed like he could not keep Golovkin off him. They traded power shots for 12 rounds, and to the eyes of many, Golovkin got the better work in. The result? Split draw. Let me rephrase. Highly controversial split draw. Now justification was, and continues to be made as to why both sides won the fight. Corruption? Conspiracy? All we know is, an immediate rematch made the most dollars. I mean made the most sense. The soap opera was meant to continue. 

Not only was the soap opera set to continue, we were given a shock twist to the program. On February 17th and February 20th, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. While Canelo maintains that the positive drug test was due to tainted beef (Cash cow, beef, get it now?) and the trace amounts found in his system were consistent with this claim, the world of boxing was quick to polarize their opinion of the Mexican superstar. "He's a cheater, look at the muscle gain he had in such a short time frame!" Much like the disputed split decision, many argued both sides. While I maintain the opinion of negligence of his team for the positive test, hammer was this time, laid on Canelo. A six month suspension, and cancellation of the May 5th rematch. What does this mean to us? The soap opera continues. 

Golovkin went on to fight Vanes Martirosyan, who was coming off a two year layoff, and a defeat at the hands of Erislandy Lara. To nobody's surprise, he got torched in two rounds. Golovkin was angry. He took it out on Martirosyan. He is still looking for more. He seems motivated to avenge his draw, which he is treating as if it is a loss. He wants Canelo. He wants revenge. But what is holding him back? Business, of course. A heated negotiation took place, with Golvokin once again conceding the larger share of the purse to Canelo. He is still the bigger name of course. Business. Golovkin needs vindication. He wants to avenge the draw he received in Las Vegas. He needs Canelo. Canelo needs vindication. He was the catchweight king of 160. He was popped for PED's. He wants a big victory to erase that from memory. He needs Golovkin. The rematch is officially set for September 15th. Will the soap opera finally end? Days of our Lives has been on since 1965. Maybe The Days of our Middleweights will continue too.