The Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) tainted meat saga continues.
According to Lance Pugmire of the LA Times, the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) has filed an official complaint against Canelo, calling for him to be suspended for up to one year–pending a hearing next month.
According to Pugmire, the complaint–which is a whopping eight-pages long–label’s the Mexican superstar as “guilty of foul or unsportsmanlike conduct that was detrimental to a contest.”
For those still holding onto hope that the fight will go on as planned on May 5, there are many signs that point to the opposite.
HBO, who is scheduled to air the fight live on pay per view, has stopped promoting the fight all together. Fathom Events, who was scheduled to show the fight in movie theaters across the country, has removed the event from their website.
John Locher/AP
And, more troubling, on Tuesday of this week, MGM Resorts stated that they will start offering full refunds ticket holders of the fight which is scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile Arena.
According to MMA Fighting, NAC executive director, Bob Bennett, has announced that the hearing for Alvarez has been set for April 18, although according to ESPN’s Dan Rafael, Bennett confirmed that they would accommodate to Canelo if he still wants to keep the original hearing date of April 10.
“After completing my investigation, I made the determination to file a complaint against Mr. Alvarez and set the matter for a disciplinary hearing during the Commission’s regularly scheduled meeting on April 18th,” reads Bennett’s statement. “Therefore, I am cancelling the hearing that was scheduled for Friday, March 30th.”
After Canelo twice tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol, Golden Boy Promotions released a statement in their fighters defense.
We respect the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s process and will vigorously present Canelo’s case throughout.
Over his career, Canelo has tested clean more than 90 times and would never intentionally take a banned substance.
Rafael also stated that because it is so rare for the NAC to issue a formal complaint against a fighter for doping violations and then not punish the fighter, the May 5 rematch is now unlikely to happen.
As for Canelo’s opponent, undefeated and unified Middleweight champion, Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs), his promoter Tom Loeffler states that they are still preparing to fight on May 5.
“We’re waiting for the official decision from the commission, but GGG is training and preparing for May 5 and that’s what he wants to do–fight May 5,” said Loeffler (per ESPN). “Naturally, Canelo is the top priority and if for some reason Canelo is not available, we’ll have to weigh all the options at that point. But as of right now we’re waiting to get more direction from the commission.”
If Canelo is out for May 5, Rafael states that Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan could fill in. O’Sullivan is coming off of a knockout victory on HBO over Antoine Douglass.
Header photo by Julio Sanchez/RBRBoxing
