Canelo Alvarez rematch is 'the priority' for Gennady Golovkin despite having options

WBC, IBF, WBA and IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is still intent on a rematch with Canelo Alvarez.

The two fighters met on 16 September in what was arguably boxing's biggest match-up in years as the fight went the distance.

While many felt "GGG" had edged the fight, the combat world was shocked when the judges revealed their scorecards that resulted in a split-decision draw.

Talks of a rematch were set in motion as despite fears from the Golovkin camp that the Mexican would hesitate and take too long to accept a rematch as he had allegedly done for their initial meeting, Canelo himself stated that he wanted a rematch as his first fight of 2018, which is expected to take place in May.

Meanwhile, Golovkin has many options if he wants to fight someone else before the rematch. A unification bout with WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders is one of them with the Briton campaigning for a meeting with the Kazakh.

Golovkin could also give Daniel Jacobs a rematch or have a mandatory title defence against Jermall Charlo or Sergiy Derevyachenko. However, according to promoter Tom Loeffler, a Canelo rematch is still the priority for him.

"Absolutely, it's the priority," Loeffler said, as quoted on BoxingScene.

"Golden Boy Promotions would like to do it, HBO would like to do it; Golden Boy will talk to Canelo.

"The fans want to see it again, it was a successful event, they both gave everything in the ring and they both want the fight."

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman recently ordered a rematch between the middleweight fighters as despite his dispute with Canelo, he wants to give the world the fight it wants to see as the sequel took a massive step to completion.

"It is the fight that the world wants to see, it is the fight that the two fighters want to have, they have expressed it publicly and that is why we have made the decision [to order the rematch], to give the world the fight that we want," Sulaiman explained.

"That fight reminded me of Carlos Monzón with Nino Benvenuti, Azumah Nelson-Jeff Fenech, Michael Spinks-Larry Holmes, Erik Morales-Marco Barrera and many other great moments in the history of the WBC."