This Saturday night (September 15) boxing fans are in for a treat with a quivering episode of Canelo Alvarez (52-49-1-2) vs. Gennady Golovkin (39-38-0-1) colliding on the middleweight canvas. Right now, Golovkin is currently ranked as #1 in 160lb. division and sits safely on top spot for pound-to-pound rankings by Ring Magazine. Competing GGG is Mexican Canelo Alvarez, who is unranked due to his failed drug test suspension. The fight would be aired by HBO as pay-per-view with Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin as the main event for a four-fight card.
Fight Background
The première episode of Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin was held last year in September. A classic boxing frenzy, most of the enthusiasts were of the view that GGG was truly deserving of the win. However, the jury declared the match as a draw. A rematch was scheduled for the two on Cinco de Mayo but Canelo faced six-month suspension as he couldn’t clear his drug test, leaving the fight date up in the air.
With his drug clearance, Canelo is geared up for a promising ring appearance. However, following his absence from the rematch, the two fighters have developed an animosity for each other that is quite apparent to the media and fans. The two do not shy away from dispatching agonizing insults to each other and are looking to settle all scores on the canvas.
Fight Preview – Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin
Mexican Canelo made it to international canvas in 2012. 28-year-old didn’t take it slow and notched up his performance by adding a single defeat in Floyd Mayweather’s otherwise clean resume. Alvarez continued on with his upward stride as he bagged a middleweight title from Miguel Cotto. Though his win did add some perks to his fight resume, this is where he started facing problems with fans. The following two years saw the fighter refrain from taking on middleweights’ top league, taking on low- profile opponents that raised many eyebrows. He also engaged in a fight against Julio Cesar Chavez last year, embracing a questionable victory. The Mexicans bout against GGG brought back a lot of respect for the fighter, something that he has been struggling with since his bout against Cotto in 2015. But a failed drug test just right before a rematch poured cold water on the expectations of his fans. Canelo has been facing a lot of scrutiny from the boxing world on bagging favorable scorecards. Right now a win in Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin will not only add a win in his resume but some honorable batches on his chest, which have been stripped earlier.
Gennady Golovkin, on the other hand, comes equipped with the mastery of KO, who has been proving his mettle by taking on boxing’s top guns and handing over grueling defeats to them. His stardom is not only backed by his unmatched talent but also a loyal fan base that has been getting bigger with time. When Canelo and Cotto were coveting for a middleweight title, many sport pundits considered GGG truly deserving of the accolade. GGG bagged a win against Kell Brook in 2016 followed by another victory against Daniel Jacobs in 2017, and many were of the view that these were the closing fights of 36-year-old’s boxing career. The upcoming fight is going to act as a deciding bout for the fighter’s career, as a defeat could add a bitter taste to a glorious boxing past.
Prediction
Ideally, for any rematch, the fighter who learns his debut bout lessons well outperforms on the canvas. With these two fighters in question, Canelo lacks some strategic planning and it seems hard that he would cash on the experience learnt from his previous fight.
Golovkin displayed impressive feats in his previous fight. The only improvement he should look for is to focus on initial rounds without giving them away. He needs to be on the lookout though, as with Canelo in the ring, the scorecards can be tricky.
RDX Prediction: GGG by 10th round TKO
Who do you think would embrace victory in middleweight affair Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin?
