Although the proposed Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Gennady Golovkin summer showdown is not yet finalized, the camps are getting there and have agreed on a massive fine if either man is overweight.
The fight, ticketed for the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on July 19 rather than original date of July 12, will be contracted at 168 pounds, which should be no issue for the always-in-shape Golovkin, a middleweight titleholder, who would be moving up for the fight anyway.
Chavez, however, has had his issues, such as blowing weight for the first fight he had with Bryan Vera last fall, which cost him $250,000. There was another penalty built into the contract had Chavez missed weight for the rematch they had on March 1, but Chavez made weight -- even came in a half-pound under.
But Golovkin's team is taking no chances, getting Chavez to agree to a $1 million penalty if he is overweight, Chavez promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com on Friday. The same penalty would apply to Golovkin, Arum said.
Arum said that K2 Promotions' Tom Loeffler, Golovkin's promoter, asked for the million-dollar penalty.
"We had no objection," Arum said. "It goes for both guys. We know there has been a history with Chavez. But he has no problem making 168 now. He made it with ease for the Vera rematch. He wasn't dehydrated on the scale.
"He wanted to prove to everybody that when he does the weight right, he can get down to 168 without any problem. So Tom asked for the $1 million penalty and I said I would check with the Chavez people and they readily agreed."
Loeffler said they asked for the penalty because Chavez is already much bigger than Golovkin.
"We feel $1 million is significant enough that it will make Julio come on weight," Loeffler told ESPN.com. "GGG is a small middleweight and makes 160 very easily, so we don't expect any issues with GGG making weight and he has never been overweight in his entire career.
"We have always said GGG would fight from 154 to 168 if there is a compelling fight at either weight. It doesn't get more compelling than a fight with Julio Jr. The demographics are a perfect fit where GGG has his hardcore fan base with high HBO ratings and Julio is a proven PPV star. It would be GGG's first PPV fight and a great matchup in styles where both fighters are going to come forward [and] 168 makes this a much more compelling fight because everyone knows Julio will be much bigger than GGG on fight night."
Arum admitted that such a large penalty would probably generate some publicity for the fight but that was not the reason for doing it.
"In the real world this assures me the weight's not going to be problem," Arum said. "With Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley, I wouldn't give it a second thought [about negotiating a weight penalty] because there is never a problem with the weight. With Chavez we had that terrible experience."
Arum said the reason for the date switch from July 12 to July 19 was because of TV Azteca, his Mexican broadcast partner.
"I got pushback on July 12 by TV Azteca because that is the date of the [soccer] World Cup consolation game," Arum said. "For me, that doesn't mean s---, but for others it means a lot. TV Azteca bought the whole World Cup and that's when the consolation game is, so it's a big deal for them. But everybody ended up loving the 19th anyway, so it was no problem to move. I talked to the Forum people and they were holding the 12th and we got them to switch to the 19th."
By moving the card to July 19, it means Top Rank will have two notable cards on the same day. Arum is also doing another card that date in Macau, China, which will feature Chinese flyweight star Zou Shiming in his first 10-round bout along with other fights Arum says he is working on.
He said junior featherweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux could make his next defense on that card -- the last on his contract with Top Rank -- and that Brian Viloria could challenge for a flyweight title on the card.
Arum says the plan is for HBO to televise the card from Macau on "HBO2 or maybe HBO in the afternoon and use it to help drive the pay-per-view for that evening."
Arum and Loeffler both pointed out that the Chavez-Golovkin fight is not yet finalized, although both sides are confident it will get done.
"We're working on getting it completed," Arum said. "Nothing with Chavez is easy, but we're getting there."
Said Loeffler: "It is a fight that both fighters want. It is not finalized yet, but if both fighters want the fight, usually the final details can be sorted out. We are looking forward to the fight happening and from the reaction we have gotten so far believe it would one of the biggest fights if the year -- if the final details can be worked out."
If Golovkin beats Chavez, Loeffler said he would not stay at super middleweight.
"If GGG beats Julio at 168, he would not stay at that weight and come back to 160 to continue his quest to prove he is the best middleweight in the world today," he said.