Now that the hype fest for the faux Boxing vs. MMA paradigm is officially over, all eyes are on the boxing purist’s biggest fight of the year; Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
The two are now in full swing with promotional appearances, media days, and HBO shoulder programming to support their September 16th middleweight mega-fight in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. It will be the first Las Vegas fight for Golovkin and his biggest test to date.
Throughout his extremely dominant career, the biggest criticism of Golovkin has been his opponents. When Andre Ward famously went up in weight to the light heavyweight division, he cited Golovkin’s refusal to fight him as one of the main factors. Every Golovkin fight, with the exception of Danny Jacobs, has been a virtual shutout.
Greatest Hits: Canelo Alvarez
Watch some of the greatest moments from boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez. Canelo vs. Gennady Golovkin is set for Saturday, Sept 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT. on HBO Pay-Per-View.
“This is definitely the closest odds of any fight that Gennady’s been involved in,” said Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions via an international media call. “And I think that’s what makes this so intriguing is that 50 percent of the people think that Canelo is going to win and 50 percent think that Gennady’s going to win. That’s where, I think, the outcome is definitely in doubt, and it makes that much bigger of an event.”
Golovkin is a true success story coming from Kazahkstan having over 300 amateur fights and a current undefeated record of 37 wins and 33 knockouts. However, it wasn’t until he came to the states and the intense tutelage of Abel Sanchez in his isolated Big Bear Lake, California gym that Golovkin really began to come into his own.
Sanchez gave Golovkin the tool kit to fight like a Mexican fighter with relentless passion and power, which is his trademark for better or worse.
Greatest Hits: Gennady Golovkin
Watch some of the greatest moments from boxing superstar Gennady Golovkin. Canelo Alvarez vs. Golovkin is set for Saturday, Sept 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT. on HBO Pay-Per-View.
“The Kazakh system is known in the last 15 years for creating great amateur fighters,” said Sanchez on the international media call. “But if they give us that foundation, it’s a lot easier for us to continue to develop the more TV friendly kind of style. It’s hard to teach a fighter patience that wants to just fight. With 350 amateur fights, there’s nothing he hasn’t seen. There’s no style, no size and no shape he hasn’t seen. So it’s easier to be patient when there’s nothing that can surprise you.”
Canelo Alvarez has been dominating the sport for years and is a multiple weight class champion. Like his mentor Oscar de la Hoya, Alvarez is a role model in boxing and for Mexico.
Unlike Golovkin, Alvarez has fought all the names of this generation and lost only to its biggest, Floyd “Money” Mayweather. He has nothing really to prove, even though he claims that this fight is for boxing supremacy, and it is.
However for Alvarez, this fight is truly the purist in him taking on the next challenge and solidifies his claim to the current boxing throne if he wins. But if he loses, it won’t matter much because his position as a come-forward, take all challengers fighter is already guaranteed. Plus, Alwarez is the only true pay-per-view star left.
This fight means more for Golovkin, who ironically is the “B” side of the promotion. With pay-per-view supremacy and legacy on the line, this might truly be the fight of the century.
