IRISH MIDDLEWEIGHT GARY ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan will not be fighting Gennady Golovkin on 5 May.
A deal had long been agreed in principle between the two fighters’ camps, but following widespread speculation that Golovkin’s 5 May bout was in jeopardy, as well as the glaring lack of forthcoming confirmation from the Kazakh’s team over the past week, Spike’s representatives – consisting of Golden Boy Promotions, Ken Casey and trainer-manager Paschal Collins – this evening pulled the plug on a scrap with the unified middleweight world champion.
O’Sullivan will instead fight on 4 May, live on ESPN, as was originally intended prior to Canelo Alvarez’s doping controversy, but at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles as opposed to the MGM Las Vegas. The change in venue is due a rule which forbids fights from taking place at such short notice in the world’s fight capital.
The Mahon middleweight’s trainer and manager, Paschal Collins, confirmed Spike’s withdrawal from a prospective ‘GGG’ showdown on Twitter:
so many rumours circulating about who fights @GGGBoxing next or whether the fight was even happening because of all the uncertainty we have made the decision to Withdraw @spike_osullivan as a possible opponent ! He will instead fight May 4th on @espn in LA🇺🇸@GoldenBoyBoxing pic.twitter.com/qNFmB2Iel3
— Packie Collins (@packycollins) April 11, 2018
Since it was first reported by The42 that the 33-year-old Corkonian was in the running to replace the soon-to-be suspended Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, O’Sullivan had emerged as the clear frontrunner to challenge for the Kazakh’s three world middleweight titles.
At least two other candidates were subsequently rejected by the California State Athletic Commission.
Ranked in the top 15 by all of the major governing bodies (WBC #11, WBA #9, IBF #15 and WBO #5), O’Sullivan had been approved by the Californian powers-that-be as well as WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, who described him as “a worthy opponent”.
The42 understands that O’Sullivan himself remained keen to trade leather with the ferocious Kazakh as recently as training this evening.
However, considering the sheer uncertainty surrounding what remained a hypothetical contest, the Cork puncher’s fight camp was scarcely conducive to overcoming a challenge of its magnitude; with just three weeks left until 5 May, his team felt he required a more concrete preparation for the brick-fisted ‘Triple G’, as well as more official notice from Golovkin’s team.
O’Sullivan will instead return to the ring a night earlier next month, with an opponent due to be confirmed in the coming days. Provided he wins, he’ll remain in the mix for a shot at middleweight world honours later this year.
Golovkin, now left without an opponent for 5 May, might well opt out of the date altogether and save himself for Canelo’s return from his impending suspension. A rematch between the pair has been mooted for 15 September – a day before Mexican Independence Day.
Canelo will learn his fate at a Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing on 18 April, but it’s believed he’ll wind up serving a six-month ban backdated to February, when he twice tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.
