Make no mistake: This is a real punishment for Canelo Alvarez

In the end, it all went just as expected.

After Canelo Alvarez failed two drug tests in February for the banned performance-enhancing substance clenbuterol and his mega HBO PPV rematch with unified middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin on May 5 in Las Vegas was canceled, many wondered what kind punishment the Nevada State Athletic Commission would dole out, if any.

When the positive drug tests first came to light, there were many who had not done their homework on the commission rules and figured Alvarez would skate with a slap on the wrist and the fight would go forward as planned. I was not one of them because it was obvious, after two minutes of reading the commission's rules regarding banned substances (which were overhauled in late 2016), that the panel would have no choice but to sit Alvarez down for at least six months.

And that is exactly what the commissioners did on Wednesday in an unsurprising 5-0 vote at its monthly meeting. There was no drama, no nothing. Alvarez didn't appear. Nobody from Golden Boy Promotions appeared. They had worked out a deal ahead of time, so only Canelo's attorney, Ricardo Cestero, was on hand via telephone from the Alvarez side to confirm that they had agreed to an adjudication agreement beforehand. The whole thing lasted only a few minutes.

But make no mistake: This is a real punishment, one that Alvarez deserved for having clenbuterol in his system. He admitted it was there but continues to claim it was from eating contaminated beef -- a common problem for athletes in Mexico -- even though there is no proof of that. It just as well could have been that he was using clenbuterol on purpose to gain an edge and got caught. We'll never know.

Regardless of why it was in Alvarez's system, Nevada rules call for a punishment no matter how a banned substance got into his body. But because Alvarez is a first-time offender and the commission said he cooperated during its investigation, he got leniency. The commission could have suspended him for up to two years.

But the commission went for the six months I expected him to get, because that is the typical punishment for a first-time offender who tests positive for clenbuterol. Under the deal, Alvarez will take a legitimate hit because he will miss out on an eight-figure payday on May 5, which is no small matter. He was looking at raking in probably at least $25 million.

He will still make that kind of cash when he fights this fall after the suspension is lifted on Aug. 17 (six months from the date of the first positive test), but the suspension likely means he will fight only once this year instead of twice. That means he will earn half the income this year that he expected to earn. That is punishment indeed.

But the commission didn't give him such a hefty suspension that it would lay waste to his career or seriously damage Nevada's ability to lure him to Las Vegas for the inevitable Golovkin rematch, which will mean nine figures in revenue for the local economy, as was the case for their fight last September.

In other words, the suspension hit the sweet spot for all involved. Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) got off as lightly as possible but still paid a hefty price. And the commission handled it all the right way. It took Alvarez's positive drug test seriously, conducted a legitimate investigation and then got the punishment right while still making sure the rematch with GGG can still take place in September.