Canelo vs. GGG: 5 keys for Gennady Golovkin
On September 16, Gennady Golovkin will finally get his shot at Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in the most anticipated fight of 2017. Here are five keys to a Golovkin victory.
Despite approaching the all-time middleweight title defense record, his ownership of the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, the sensational knockouts and his burgeoning public profile, two essential things have eluded Gennady Golovkin: the lineal title in the weight class he as ruled for years and a genuine mega fight.
When Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) steps into the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 16 against Mexican star Canelo Alvarez, he’ll have his overdue opportunity to rectify both of those elusive goals. Indeed, the “mega fight” is a given, but a Golovkin victory — a foregone conclusion to practically everyone as recently as a year ago — is seen by some as up for debate. Has Golovkin began his downward arc? Is Canelo (49-1-1, 34 KOs) truly ascending to the extent many would have you believe?
Luckily, boxing fans and pundits will get answers to these substantive questions only a few weeks after the perplexing distraction that was Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor. Canelo-Golovkin is everything that fight wasn’t: tactically engrossing, a clash of powerful punchers, a fight with historic stakes and a credit to boxing.
Gennady Golovkin is one of boxing’s most reliable fighters from a variety of standpoints. He’s always in supreme condition and unfailingly delivers gripping “drama” in every bout. Even an “off” night against Daniel Jacobs showcased his technical excellence. And Golovkin, no matter what, aims to break the will of his opponent and impose his ruthless fighting style — with absolutely no compromising.
So, in many respects, Golovkin simply needs to be himself — to literally do exactly what he has done to get him to this point one more time — to win the most significant fight of his career. But there are a few more subtleties at play. With that, here are some keys to a Golovkin victory over Canelo.