So long as he has a choice, Canelo Alvarez seems to have every intention of giving the cold shoulder to the idea of facing his bete noire Gennadiy Golovkin in a third fight.

Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) was recently asked, point blank, during an interview on The DAZN Boxing Show if he would rather face the IBF middleweight champion Golovkin or the WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo.

The response couldn’t be any clearer. 

“Charlo,” a stone-faced Alvarez said immediately.

It is the latest example of Alvarez snubbing the Kazakh bruiser in public. The Mexican champion, who defeated Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) in a hard-fought affair in the rematch in 2018, has not been shy about expressing his distaste for his adversary, a sentiment that stretches back to when Golovkin accused Alvarez of being a drug cheat. (Alvarez tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol ahead of their rematch, but has always maintained that he had consumed tainted Mexican meat). 

Despite the animosity, a third fight between the two figures to be one of the biggest and most lucrative fights that can be made in the sport today. On paper, it makes financial sense for both parties, given the sky high pay-per-view numbers and box office receipts of the first two bouts. (The first fight ended in a controversial draw). 

But Alvarez, at least publicly, has made it clear he wants nothing to do with Golovkin. Indeed, his refusal to entertain a third matchup has been a sore spot for streaming platform DAZN, which signed both fighters to lucrative nine-figure contracts several years ago with the express hope of showcasing the third fight. (Alvarez is now technically a network free agent but has been working with DAZN for the past few fights).  

No less intriguing – and sellable – would be an Alvarez-Charlo fight. That potential matchup would require the undefeated Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) to move up to 168, where Alvarez currently holds the WBC, WBO, and WBA titles. Charlo is coming off a clear, but underwhelming, unanimous decision over Juan Macias Montiel in June. 

Golovkin last fought in December, scoring a dominant stoppage over Kamil Szeremeta. It has been reported that he could face Japanese middleweight titlist Ryota Murata in Japan at the end of the year.

Alvarez has had a far busier schedule, having fought three times in the last eight months. In his last fight, he stopped Billy Joe Saunders in the eighth round in May in Arlington, Texas. He is currently in talks to face fellow 168-pound titleholder Caleb Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) in a full unification match in the fall.