Canelo vs. GGG: 5 keys for Canelo Alvarez

Canelo Alvarez may technically be the A-side in his highly anticipated fight against unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin on September 16, but he’ll have to employ flawless tactics if he’s going to win.

Golden Boy Promotions dawdled long enough to draw the ire of boxing fans when it came to making Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin, a match so obvious that it would have sadly come as no surprise if it had never materialized. Thankfully, Canelo-Golovkin is nearly upon us, and the fight is at least happening within the acceptable window of peak viability.

Over the past year, a strong contingent of boxing fans and pundits feel the gap separating Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) and Canelo (49-1-1, 34 KOs) has narrowed. There is some truth to this: Canelo has undoubtedly impressed with a slew of sickening knockouts, firmly establishing himself as one of the sport’s genuinely elite fighters; on the other hand, the seemingly invincible Golovkin has shown glimpses of fallibility against Kell Brook (barely) and Daniel Jacobs (more significantly).

But Canelo’s ascent and the early signs of Golovkin’s “decline” come with caveats. Canelo has beat up on smaller (Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan) or inferior (James Kirkland, Liam Smith, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.) foes recently; Golovkin, despite getting tagged by Brook with a few eye-catching combinations, literally broke the Englishman’s face, and his exceptional jab won him the Jacobs fight in a contest where he proved he can battle a crafty foe for 12 brisk rounds.

There’s a certain level of emotional investment that comes with Canelo-Golovkin. Both have rabid fans, and both are exceptional fighters. But has Canelo improved enough to defeat the most fearsome and talented foe he’s ever faced? Can he possibly overhwelm a seemingly unstoppable force? If Canelo Alvarez is to defeat Gennady Golovkin, here’s how he can do it.