Canelo Alvarez is pleading a case that many aren’t buying, but if the experience of a veteran fight man counts, perhaps there should be a different way to look at Alvarez’s balk before fighting Gennady Golovkin.

“They always talk about Mexico’s boxing idols not ending up with money. I really think that’s part of it — that he knows by fighting [Golovkin] next year it’s going to be worth a couple million dollars more,” said Don Chargin, 88, a promoter for 67 years who has consulted Alvarez’s promoter, Golden Boy, since its inception.

The 26-year-old Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 knockouts) will instead meet World Boxing Organization junior-middleweight champion Liam Smith of England on Sept. 17 in an HBO pay-per-view bout at massive AT&T Stadium outside Dallas.

Chargin didn’t solicit the discussion about Alvarez’s situation with The Times. The subject came up casually as he was speaking to a mutual friend about a different subject.


Chargin clearly doesn’t mind making the best fights possible. His nickname as matchmaker at the former Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, which staged weekly fight cards, was “War-a Week.”

But when told by a reporter who was headed to a Wednesday visit with Alvarez at his San Diego training camp, he brought a unique perspective, pointing to the legacy of Mexico’s late bantamweight champion Jose Becerra, former lightweight and welterweight champion Jose “Mantequilla” Napoles and former bantamweight champion Ruben Oliveras, who were broke after their careers.

“The people writing that he should take [the Golovkin fight now], they don’t care,” Chargin said. “They’re the first people to say those dumb fighters can’t hold onto their money.

“This is the best thing [Alvarez] could’ve done for a couple reasons: By the time this fight happens, he’ll have a good chance of winning. He’ll figure it out more and Golovkin will be [older] by that time.”


In his conversation with The Times, Alvarez acknowledged being aware of the sad falls of his legendary countrymen, but made it clear he will decide when the Golovkin fight will happen.

“The sport of boxing is a very dangerous sport. I worry about it. I worry about my future,” Alvarez said. “But the thing I worry about most is good fights for the future, to make sure I’m healthy and can give the best fights I can give at my own pace.”

Alvarez’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, has said a middleweight title fight with the three-belt champion Golovkin will happen by September 2017.


Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) has knocked out 22 consecutive opponents and is likely to make it 23 on Sept. 10 when he meets welterweight champion Kell Brook at O2 Arena in London on HBO.

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor recently echoed criticism that has run fervently around Alvarez and Golovkin, saying “cherry picking” of easier opponents is hurting boxing.

Alvarez, who took his only loss by fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. at age 23, dismissed the criticism, calling McGregor a “big mouth” who “gasses out after two rounds.”

“That’s the [last thing] they can ever speak about me because I’ve been fighting the best since I was 23,” Alvarez said. “There’s people out there who like to speak nonsense and stupidity.”


The Golovkin fight “is going to happen when the timing is right, when both camps are happy with negotiations. Right now, they’re talking about negotiations … they’re making things up.”

Asked if he could be convinced to meet Golovkin sooner, Alvarez, who also said he’d like to fight again in December, said, “December, May, September — I’m always prepared, always ready.

“People who say I’ve got to get ready for him — let’s make this clear: I’m not getting ready for him or the future. He needs to get ready for me.”