Canelo Alvarez, left, and Gennady Golovkin pose during a weigh-in in Las Vegas. The two are scheduled to fight in a middleweight title fight Saturday (Sunday in Manila) in Las Vegas. (AP)
By Rafael Bandayrel
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez withdrew from his much-anticipated rematch against world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin on May 5, following the extension of his suspension doled out by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC), per Yahoo Sports.
Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez announced that the mega-bout will not go on because of Canelo’s two failed drug tests on Feb. 17 and Feb. 21. He said “ was extremely unlikely to get resolved” soon enough to allow the fight to push through as scheduled.
Alvarez tested positive for the banned substance, Clenbuterol. However, the 27-year-old denied intentionally cheating and blamed the failed doping tests on consuming Mexico's tainted meat.
“I have always been a clean fighter and I always will be a clean fighter,” Alvarez said Tuesday at a news conference in Los Angeles per ESPN. “I want to prove without a doubt that I have never intentionally ingested Clenbuterol. I have nothing to hide and I want to be open and transparent through this process. I have never taken illegal substances and this is no different.”
Golovkin is expected to take on a replacement for Canelo on "Cinco De Mayo", but nothing has been finalized yet.