Canelo vs. GGG: 5 reasons this is the fight boxing needs

3. It’s a battle of evenly-matched fighters in their primes

In a boxing world full of mandatory challengers and vacated titles, it’s great to finally once again see two of the best fighters in the world face off against one another while both are in their prime. Let’s be honest here. While it was great two years ago to finally see Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao get in the ring, that was a fight that should have happened three to five years earlier when Manny really could have given Floyd a run for his money (pun fully intended there).

Yes, Gennady Golovkin is 35 years old and eight years older than Canelo Álvarez coming into this fight. However, he’s still the second-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world and outside of the fight against Danny Jacobs, he’s continued to destroy any opponent put in front of him. Jacobs essentially refused to go toe to toe with Golovkin, choosing instead to try and outbox him, which did throw GGG off for a while, and yet the outcome was still never in doubt. He looked a little off that night but perhaps the reason was that this upcoming fight with Canelo is the only fight he’s wanted for a long time. He’s looked very sharp in training camp and will certainly be ready to go on Saturday night.

Ever since the lone loss of his career to Floyd Mayweather in 2013, Canelo Álvarez has been at the top of his game. He admits to mistakes made in that loss and has done everything in his power not to make them again. With a fantastic mix of raw power and pure skill, Canelo has the ability to knock somebody out in a flash or just outbox an opponent and frustrate him. After beating Miguel Cotto on points in late 2015, he knocked out both Amir Khan and Liam Smith in 2016 and easily handled Julio César Chávez Jr. in May.

The beauty of these two fighters is that neither has ducked any real challenge outside of each other. They tend to fight opponents who are at the top of their respective weight classes, and while both have accused one another of ducking this fight, the fact that this is happening says a lot about both men. They’re not afraid to get in the ring and mix it up with the very best, and this should be a classic showdown that may need to happen more than once.