Despite all of the hype and money surrounding the Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor circus, that event was no real fight fan’s idea of a “Fight of the Year.”
However, amid much less fanfare, we have a true candidate for not only the “Fight of the Year”, but perhaps THE best fight in years now that the long-awaited matchup between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin, who’ll shoot a fair one for the WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight titles, has finally arrived.
360 – CANELO VS. GOLOVKIN: Battle for Supremacy | NextVR
Watch Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT on HBO Pay-Per-View. Then experience the fight in VIRTUAL REALITY on Saturday, Sept. 23 with NextVR.
Golovkin is making an incredible 19th consecutive middleweight title defense since he won the WBA belt seven years ago. That tally is the second-most in division history behind the incomparable Bernard Hopkins 20 straight defenses from 1995 to 2005. Prior to his unanimous decision victory over Daniel Jacobs in March, the man known as GGG enjoyed a ridiculous 23-fight knockout streak.
Alvarez, who made his pro debut at the age of 15, has fought 12 current or former champions during his career, with his only loss coming to Mayweather. He has impressive knockout power of his own, but that is only a piece of his arsenal. On defense, he presents an elusive target while utilizing a subtle array of feints, slips and movement.
Golovkin’s power is mind-boggling, having knocked out 33 of his 37 opponents, but he’s only gone the 12-round distance once. If the fight advances into the later rounds, Alvarez will have the advantage of better foot and hand speed, utilizing his stiff jab and precise counter-punching to offset GGG’s ferocity and controlled belligerence.
Gennady Golovkin Greatest Hits
Subscribe to the HBO Boxing YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/hboboxing Watch some of the best moments of undefeated superstar and knockout artist, Gennady Golovkin. Golovkin vs. Brook happens Saturday, September 10 live on HBO at 5:30pm ET/PT.
But if we’re talking jabs, no other recent fighter other than the brilliant Mayweather works better behind his jab than GGG. The name of his game is pressure, accuracy, high punch-output and ferocity. It’s hard to believe that, given his exciting nature, crowd-pleasing skills and knockout prowess, that this is the first time he’ll be appearing on the exalted stage of Las Vegas.
The Golovkin and Alvarez pairing should be a fight that is both memorable in its brutality and pugilistic science.
And I’m loving every minute of the buildup, examining the matchup, breaking down what each fighter does well and how that will translate once they step into the ring on Saturday night. Whichever way you slice it, we’re in for something historic, something legacy-building. And for true fans of the fight game, that feels good!
Canelo Alvarez Greatest Hits (HBO Boxing)
Watch some of the best moments in the career of superstar Canelo Alvarez. Canelo vs. Chavez, Jr. happens Saturday, May 6 live on pay-per-view beginning at 9pm ET/6pm PT.
We’ve had our share of great fights in the past 30 years or so, with Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera, Riddick Bowe vs Evander Holyfield, Micky Ward vs Arturo Gatti, Julio Csar Chvez vs. Meldrick Taylor, Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo and Bernard Hopkins vs. Flix Trinidad, among others, immediately coming to mind. But unfortunately, these types of great matchups are happening with an ever increasing rarity.
Bernard Hopkins vs Felix Trinidad | GP highlights
B-Hop’s masterful display against Puerto Rico’s legendary Felix Trinidad. Music used: 1. Gangstarr – Just 2 Get A Rep 2. Mop Ft Gangstarr – Half And Half 3.
Canelo vs GGG, though, has the scent of something historic along the lines of when the sport was fueled by great rivalries in a golden era that will probably never be seen again.
I’m referring back to a time when an exceptional group of fighters who were close to one another in weight, endowed with heart, power and speed were rivals of equal stature and caliber, fought one another in this middleweight division that now houses Alvarez and Golovkin.
The time was the ’80s, and the men who possessed those unique qualities of strength, courage and elegance, boxing intelligence and warrior mentalities were named Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler.
The 4 Kings of Boxing | Backgrounds & Styles | * Hagler * Hearns *Leonard * Duran
Four Kings: http://amzn.to/2rOAnnz Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hit Man Hearns, and The Hands of Stone, Roberto Duran. These men ruled the ring during the last golden age of boxing. They rose from poverty and obscurity to become legends. They left their marks on history, and on each other.
In their respective pairings, the outcomes were never certain, and there was always a hint of awe and mystery surrounding them. They transcended the hideous underbelly that ruled the business side of the game to create an electricity that’s difficult to quantify. It was a time that true fans of the pugilistic science treasure, a period when the brutal nature of boxing was elevated to the level of artistry.
Similar to back then, the sport has lapsed into something fractured and sometimes unappealing. But Duran, Hagler, Leonard and Hearns, who all fought one another nine times in the span of a decade, resuscitated boxing in a time when the heavyweight division, once the orbit around which it prospered, had lost its luster.
HAGLER vs HEARNS REMASTERED HD Greatest 3 rounds in Boxing! Full Fight
Take a look back at Hagler vs Hearns Remastered in the best quality I could possibly find. Hope you enjoy this war! Watch the full fight now and SUBSCRIBE to Boxing’s Finest for more Old School Boxing
In bringing out the best in each other and maturing towards greatness at the same time, they brought boxing back to prominence. Each of those bouts were memorable in their own right, with Hearns vs Leonard in 1981 and Hagler vs Hearns in 1985 among the greatest fights of all time.
They shared a legacy that still resonates today and their names will forever be associated with one another.
In Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin, we have what could be the next installment of that legacy, of two great middleweight fighters and warriors bathed in generational greatness, fighting one another not just for supremacy, but to help rescue and elevate the sport towards its next Golden Age.
