By Ian S Palmer
The rematch everybody’s been waiting for is finally here as undefeated Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan will be defending his IBO, WBC and WBA ‘Super’ World Middleweight Titles against Mexican star Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez this Saturday, September 15th. The 12-round bout from the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas comes almost a year to the date of their first fight which ended in a highly-controversial draw. The battle can be seen live HBO pay per view in the U.S. and on BT Sport pay per view in the UK. Golovkin was last in the ring in May when he took Vanes Martirosyan out in the second round while Alvarez hasn’t fought since the first bout with Golovkin.
Unlike the first meeting, there’s been a lot of bad blood before this fight with most of it coming because of Canelo’s ban for failing a drug test. The Mexican claims it was the result of eating tainted meat while Golovkin believes he’s simply a cheater. This clash didn’t need any extra incentive to watch it, but now fans of both boxers will really be whipped into a frenzy once the bell starts. With both men stating they’ll be going for a knockout this time, we should find the rematch may even be better than the classic they fought last year.
Golovkin’s a year older now so he steps into the ring as a 36-year-old with a near-perfect record of 38-0-1 along with 34 big Kos. The only blemish of course, was the draw with Alvarez last September. Triple G had a streak of 23 knockouts going until beating Danny Jacobs by unanimous decision in March of 2017. So counting the draw with Alvarez last year, he’s now gone the distance in two of his last three fights. His power hasn’t really diminished though as he dropped Jacobs, wobbled Alvarez and easily halted Martirosyan and his current knockout ratio is 87 per cent .
Golovkin stands just over 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 70-inch reach and turned pro back in 2006 after a fine amateur career. He’s fought 184 rounds since then with his stiffest competition being Alvarez, Jacobs, Kell Brook, David Lemieux, Willie Monroe Jr., Marco Antonio Rubio, Martin Murray, Daniel Geale, Curtis Stevens, Matthew Macklin and Gabriel Rosado. His fight on Saturday will be his 21st title defence overall and the argument could easily be made that he hasn’t lost a fight as a pro. Golovkin isn’t perfect, but he simply goes about his job no matter who he faces.
In addition, Golovkin has also shown that he has a granite chin to go along with his power and fine boxing skills. He isn’t afraid of getting hit while he unleashes fierce body and head shots, but can also be patient while stalking his prey. Golovkin isn’t getting any younger though and he needs to be on the top of his game to stay undefeated. He’ll need to use those boxing skills against Alvarez as well as his power. If he can get into a rhythm and hopefully rack up a few rounds on the scorecards he might then want to open things up. But he could also come out looking for a knockout right from the opening bell.
Alvarez is 28 years old and is actually the Lineal Middleweight Champion. He also has an excellent record of 49-1-2 along with 34 Kos. His only loss was a majority decision to Floyd Mayweather in September of 2013 while his other draw was a four-round affair against Jorge Juarez back in 2006. Alvarez stands 5-feet-9-inches tall and has a reach of 70.5 inches, so there isn’t really much of a difference between him and Golovkin in those categories. He has a wealth of experience for his age since he turned pro when he was just 15 years old in 2005 and has 364 rounds under his belt since then.
Alvarez has taken on and beaten some tough opponents over the years such as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, James Kirkland, Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara, Shane Mosley, Josesito Lopez, Kermit Cintron, Carlos Baldomir, and Alfredo Angulo. However, while he’s the lineal middleweight champion, he’s only fought one top middleweight and that was Golovkin as he’s been fighting below the 160 lb. limit or at catchweights. Alvarez also has above-average power and enters the fight with a current knockout ratio of 65 per cent and also owns a granite chin and quick hands.
However, as Mayweather and Khan to some degree showed, the former world super welterweight and middleweight champ can be outboxed as he has difficulty handling a quick, stiff jab. Alvarez is a good boxer-puncher who likes to go to the body, but has a bit of difficulty with boxers who are mobile. In fact, he struggled at times against Golovkin in their first meeting and was too cautious for most of the contest. Hopefully he’ll come to fight this time instead of being satisfied to see the fight go to the scorecards.
Prediction…
I thought the first fight was quite dramatic and close, but had Golovkin winning it by a few points. There’s a good chance he could replicate his performance from a year ago and win this rematch on points, especially if he digs to Canelo’s body. But it seems all the pre-fight trash talking might be acted upon and both boxers will be going for a stoppage. Golovkin could still have the edge here, but he could also get caught by counter shots if he just wades in. I believe if either one is hurt, the other will try to end it right then and there. That being said, since they both have great chins it’s possible this fight also goes the distance. As we saw in the first fight anything can happen in the ring and on the scorecards, so don’t be surprised by any outcome at all. Still, if Golovkin doesn’t walk into anything I believe he’ll retain his belts.
