PPV report might knock Canelo off the A-side By Norm Frauenheim So who is the A-side now? In a not-so-surprising report, Canelo Alvarez’ crown as the reigning pay-per-view king got knocked sideways, if not completely off his redhead, with news that the PPV audience for his victory over Liam Smith last Saturday is not expected to be bigger than 300,000. The Los Angeles Times reported the news, citing sources who blamed the disappointing number on mounting frustration at Canelo, who has yet to agree to a fight with Gennady Golovkin. Meanwhile, Golovkin’s victory on Sept. 10 over Kell Brook, a British welterweight fighting at middleweight, was a PPV success in the UK with a reported audience of 500,000. The Canelo-Smith fight was promoted as a way to showcase Canelo at AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys home field, during a celebration of Mexican Independence. The live gate was considered a success. In terms of leverage in potential negotiations for Canelo- Golovkin, however, the key is in the PPV numbers. Golovkin appeared to gain a significant edge at London’s sold-out O2 Arena against a fighter, Brook, better-known in the hot UK market than Smith. Meanwhile, chances of Golovkin-Canelo appear to be as uncertain as ever. Canelo suffered a fractured thumb during his business-like stoppage of Smith in a junior-middleweight bout. That means he won’t fight in December, as has been planned. His next appearance could be in early May as part of the annual Cinco de Mayo celebration, but it’s safe to say it won’t be against Golovkin. Even before the thumb injury, talk was that September, 2017 was the chance for Golovkin-Canelo. Now, who knows? Meanwhile, there are reported talks for an intriguing fight between Golovkin and Danny Jacobs, possibly on Dec. 10 in a middleweight unification bout in New York. It could be another opportunity for Golovkin to add further evidence that he is boxing’s A-side. Or is that the GGG-side?.