Canelo vs GGG rematch canceled, Alvarez withdraws

The May 5 mega-rematch is officially off.

It’s official and no Nevada hearing is necessary. Golden Boy Promotions announced today via conference call with media that the May 5 rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin is off, with Alvarez withdrawing from the fight.

Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KO) failed a pair of drug tests in the lead-up to the bout, and was temporarily suspended by the Nevada commission pending an April hearing, which was originally set for the 10th but moved to the 18th after Nevada filed a formal complaint against Canelo for doping violations.

Speculation grew and grew that the fight was in serious jeopardy, despite Alvarez’s claim that he failed the test by ingesting contaminated meat in Mexico, which is a familiar excuse in fight circles, but also a legitimately valid concern for athletes in the country.

The hope for the fight to go on rested on Nevada ruling that Alvarez made a mistake and had not looked to gain a competitive advantage, but Nevada didn’t seem to be leaning that way, despite the fight being the biggest thing on the schedule for the state and the sport of boxing, and probably all of combat sports right now, for that matter.

With Alvarez out, Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KO) will look to fight on May 5 against a replacement opponent, with the fight moving to the smaller MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and likely remaining on HBO pay-per-view, no matter the opponent.