Hearing of the Year: Canelo’s appearance before Commission is getting all of the attention

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s not a promising year when the most anticipated moment is a hearing instead of an opening bell.

For now, however, that’s what has at the top of its agenda after a disappointing first quarter and now a second quarter dominated by a Nevada Athletic Commission meeting on April 18 that is expected to determine the length of Canelo’s suspension for two positive PED tests he says were the result of tainted meet.

Much hangs in the balance, including when or even if the Canelo-Gennady Golovkin rematch will happen. It’s off the schedule after Canelo’s withdrawal from a bout originally set for May 5 at ’ T-Mobile Arena. For now, it’s a cancellation. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it looks more like a postponement six months from now. Money is still a factor here and there’s still plenty of it.

The guess from this corner is that Canelo’s withdrawal, despite his denial about knowingly ingesting Clenbuterol, will be viewed as cooperation by the Commission. Canelo and took the reasonable step. Even if they had fought the allegations and retained the right to fight on Cinco de Mayo, there just wasn’t enough time for fans, promoters and Vegas hotels to properly put on the show. The MGM Grand was already offering ticket refunds. HBO had pulled its advertising. Fans were canceling room and flight reservations.

Canelo’s withdrawal was a pragmatic way to hit the re-set button on the middleweight sequel to their controversial draw last September. Perhaps, a cynical way, too. Whatever you think of it, there’s plenty of reasonable speculation that Canelo, a first-time PED offender, will serve a six-month suspension that will be dated back to the first test, Feb. 17. That means he’ll be eligible to fight again on August 18. The rematch could be re-scheduled for Sept. 15, a Saturday on the weekend celebrating Mexican Independence.

But there are no safe assumptions here, especially after a wildly unpredictable three-plus months since New Year’s Day. Terence Crawford’s intriguing debut against Jeff Horn was postponed from April 14 to June 9 at Vegas’ MGM Grand because of an injury to his right hand. Welterweight champion postponed his comeback from elbow surgery, scheduled for May 19, because of an injury to his left hand.

Then, there was versus . Other than another-rock-and-roll like crowd for Joshua at Cardiff, Wales, the fight was a dud. Lots of hype produced a lot of ho-hums. Joshua won a decision, his first after winning 20 bouts by stoppage. A conservative Joshua fought mostly not to lose. Perhaps, he was playing possum in anticipation of a showdown with Deontay Wilder or . But fan-friendly, it wasn’t. I said it before and I’ll say it again: Andre Ward must be tempted. For now, the Fight of the Year is featherweight Oscar Valdez Jr.’s epic show of guts in a decision over Scott Quigg on March 10 at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. It was riveting. It was scary. It was bloody. The drama unfolded on a night when there were more puddles than patrons at StubHub’s open- air arena. It rained, water mixing with the blood that poured from Valdez’ busted jaw. It was a fight that drained everything from Valdez but his courage.

But it also left questions, ones that might have been avoided had Quigg agreed to do a secondary weigh-in on the morning of the bout. He said no after missing the 126-mandatory by 2.8 pounds the day before opening bell. At fight time, Quigg repeatedly outweighed Valdez by nearly seven pounds.

In Quigg’s thudding punches throughout and in Valdez’ battered face after the carnage, however, it looked like a lot more. It might have happened without the reported weight disparity. Valdez takes chances, a risky style that leaves him wide open for damaging shots. A lighter Quigg might have busted up Valdez anyway. But we’ll never know, and those haunting questions will linger as Valdez battles to recover for what figures to be a challenging comeback for a fighter who has been an emerging star.

If anything, the last three-and-half months have been an almost uninterrupted sequence of moments that exemplify just how vulnerable those stars and their plans really are. I’m not sure a hearing can correct any of that. For now, however, it’s about all we’ve got.