Gennady Golovkin may not be boxing’s No. 1 pay-per-view attraction, but he’s become a sensation within the boxing community, and someone the general public is becoming far more aware of. That’s why Oscar De La Hoya’s recent comments about a potential purse split between Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez are scary.

“If I had my way, if the fight was happening tomorrow, the negotiation would be 90 percent for Canelo and 10 percent for Golovkin, so obviously these negotiations would be complicated if we did them now,” De La Hoya said (via Boxing Scene). Both fighters are slated to have one voluntary title defense before they’re expected to meet, but De La Hoya’s comments seem like a way to add roadblocks to Alvarez facing the monster of the middleweight division.

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De La Hoya is basing his comments off recent PPV figures, which are admittedly lopsided in Alvarez’s favor. Before Mayweather vs. Pacquiao shattered all records, Mayweather vs. Alvarez was boxing’s biggest-money fight of all-time. Alvarez also did 900,000 buys vs. Miguel Cotto. Meanwhile, Golovkin debuted on PPV in October 2015, and did just 150,000 views against David Lemieux.

Golovkin is a major ticket-seller, however, and such a formidable opponent that he raises the ceiling for Alvarez’s projections. For instance, Mayweather drew more than two million buys against Alvarez, and four million vs. Pacquiao, while his September bout vs. Andre Berto limped to 400,000. The dance partner matters, so De La Hoya is way off base if he thinks that Golovkin, an undefeated champion (four belts) with boxing’s longest active knockout streak, can’t generate more revenue than the likes of Alfredo Angulo or Erislandy Lara (combined 750,000 buys vs. Canelo).

Golovkin has sold out Madison Square Garden, and forced the Stubhub Center in Los Angeles to add seating to meet the demand for tickets to his fight vs. Marco Antonio Rubio. De La Hoya is correct to identify Alvarez as the A-side of this fight, but his idea of a purse split is asinine.

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