Today is the final press conference for the epic middleweight showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, which takes places this Saturday, September 16th, 2017. The two have been staring at each other through the proverbial ropes for what seems like eons, and the world will finally see who is the better pugilist in a matter of days.
Prior to them meeting up, Alvarez and Golovkin already had a battle of another sort when they sparred a few years ago. Golovkin, boxing’s longest-reigning world champion, has discounted the significance of those sessions. Footage of their pairing has yet to surface.
“Those sparring sessions mean nothing,” Golovkin said. “We helped each other. Don’t read anything into it.”
However, the two recently had another sparring session of sorts. On June 20th, during the New York leg of the fighters’ UK/US media tour, they stopped at The Wall Street Journal for an editorial roundtable. At the conclusion of the interview, the world champions adjourned to The Journal’s upstairs studio to film them duking it out for five rounds — in Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.
Canelo vs. Golovkin: The Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots Fight
Their September 16 showdown is being hailed as a fight of the decade — but first Canelo Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin tangle with the classic kids’ game.
“If ever there was a harbinger of what will come on September 16, it was that morning at The Wall Street Journal,” said Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter via release.
Golovkin got the better of the interaction and as Alvarez proceeded to try and knock his opponent’s block off, GGG succeeded — four out of five times.
“After Gennady knocked Canelo’s block off for the third consecutive time everyone was getting uncomfortable in the studio. With all the excuses that were coming from their side, you’d have thought the WBC had sanctioned this. Gennady finally let Canelo win the fourth bout before closing it out with a stone-cold knockout in the fifth and final fight. The version The Journal put out was edited to make it look even, but there are plenty of witnesses who know the truth.”
Golovkin, who has been middleweight champion since 2010, is four days away from his 19th consecutive title defense one short of the all-time record. Canelo vs. Golovkin is the long-awaited showdown to determine supremacy of the storied middleweight division and arguably the pound-for-pound rankings.
“We have the raw footage. It was taken by a member of Team Golovkin,” said Abel Sanchez, Golovkin’s longtime head trainer via release. “I’ve studied that footage and it confirms what I have been saying for years. Canelo’s a slapper. He couldn’t handle Gennady’s pressure and power then and he won’t be able to on Saturday night. On Fight Night, you will hear his corner say the same thing they said at The Wall Street Journal on June 20. No Mas.”
