By Edward Chaykovsky

Negotiations are heating up for the mandatory fight between WBC middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 knockouts) and IBF/IBO/WBA champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) .

The World Boxing Council ordered the two champions to face each other in the fall, with Golovkin being the mandatory challenger to Canelo's world title.

Talks have been going well between Canelo's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, and Golovkin’s promoter, Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions.

Contrary to some of the erroneous information floating around, Loeffler has made it clear that Golovkin will not agree to any further interim-fights, and he will also not agree to push back the purse bid - which the WBC scheduled for May 24th in Mexico City.

“We have made it clear to Golden Boy and the WBC that there would be no interim fights or extensions to the purse bid. … Canelo got one interim fight. Now he needs to fight Triple G," Loeffler said to the Los Angeles Times. “Whether Canelo keeps the title or not is his decision."

“Naturally, we would prefer to make the fight, as it is the biggest fight in boxing between two middleweight champions and two of the most marketable fighters in the sport today.”

If Canelo decides to bypass the fight, the WBC will strip him of his title and then Golovkin - who also holds the interim-belt - will be awarded control of the full championship and then will be obligated to make an immediate mandatory defense against the highest ranked contender.

For several months there was the issue of weight, with Canelo demanding a catch-weight of 155-pounds - but following his recent knockout victory of Amir Khan, the Mexican superstar stated that he wasn't scared to face Golovkin at the full division limit of 160-pounds. If the deal is finalized, it would likely happen on September 17th as part of Mexican Independence Day weekend.