Canelo vs Golovkin rematch won't happen in May 2018 if not agreed on by December

Unless terms are agreed in December, a rematch between Gennady Golovkin and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will not happen in May 2018 according to the former's promoter Tom Loeffler.

WBC, IBF, WBA and IBO middleweight champion Golovkin retained his titles by way of a controversial split-decision draw against Canelo when the two fighters met on 16 September.

With many in the combat world believing "GGG" edged the fight, calls for a rematch were immediate as talks between the two camps were soon in motion.

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 was expected to take place on 5 May on Cinco de Mayo.

However, nearly two months on from the fight, there has been no resolution on a rematch. Loeffler believes Canelo has to take the rematch to prove he's a champion but admitted that if it does not take place, he will be looking into new opponents for the Kazakh to face.

"We're trying to work on the rematch," Loeffler said, as quoted on BoxingNews24. "I thought it would work out pretty easy and pretty quick."

"He feels he won the fight. If Canelo wants to be a true champion, then he knows who he needs to fight to get the titles. If the fight happens, it would be May 5th.

"If for some reason the fight doesn't happen, we've already spoken to HBO to get a date either in March or April for Gennady."

Loeffler also revealed that the Canelo is yet to give the green light in order for negotiations to close, before adding that if the fight is not agreed by December, it will likely not happen in May 2018.

" The fans want to see it again because the fans were disappointed with the decision," Loeffler added. "Gennady clearly and we all felt clearly he won the fight. I don't think there's anything standing in the way."

"It's just about finalizing the deal. But at the same time, you can't force [Canelo to take the fight]. It took Canelo a long time to take the fight with Triple G. A lot of people are speculating that after going 12 rounds with Gennady, maybe he doesn't want to fight him right away.

"Eric [Gomez] still believes It'll happens in the next fight. They just haven't yet gotten the green light from Canelo to say, 'go ahead and let's close this deal.' I really think before the end of this year before December. If we can't get a deal done within the next month, then it's going to be clear that maybe the fight won't happen in May."