Photos by Tom Hogan/Golden Boy Promotions
On Saturday, September 17, 2016, Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) put on a strong performance against former undefeated Junior Middleweight, Liam Smith (23-1-1, 13 KOs).
Canelo peppered Smith with uppercuts all night and finished the showcase with a vicious body shot to the delight of the partisan crowd in Arlington, Texas.
With the victory, Canelo snagged the WBO title and put the focus back on a potential matchup against Middleweight juggernaut, Gennady Golovkin.
During his post-fight interview with HBO’s Max Kellerman, Canelo was asked very direct questions regarding a clash with Golovkin.
This is where–inexplicably–things got lost in translation. In 2016, we should expect that a solid Spanish language translator should be easy to find.
Jerry Olaya is not that translator.
After his customary “I’m scared of no man” spiel, Canelo shed some light on an alleged deal that was offered to Golovkin and his team worth two-to-three times more than what GGG has ever made.
Whether that deal was actually offered or not isn’t the point. Olaya’s inability to properly translate what Canelo said, and the fact that HBO, Golden Boy Promotions, BoxNation and tons of other outlets ran with the misinformation, is the real issue.
Olaya claimed that what Canelo said was “we are ready for him [Golovkin] and he just didn’t want to accept.”
What Canelo actually said was that they are waiting for a response.
“We offered him the fight and we are just waiting for a response and we’re ready,” said Canelo.
Shortly after the interview, Golden Boy Promotions sent their incorrect transcript of the interview.
“About a month ago, we offered GGG three or four times as much to make the fight. We are ready for him and he doesn’t want to accept.”
Some people may not care about details, but the shit storm that was set off on social media and website forums because of the misquotes shows how vital a few words can be.
Golovkin provided his response via social media, which added another wrinkle to the shenanigans.
The only thing that is clear at this point is that misinformation is the name of the game.
