Canelo-GGG: Is Gennady Golovkin’s legacy at stake?

Gennady Golovkin is finally on the precipice of fighting Saul “Canelo” Alarez in the sort of marquee clash he has been chasing for years. How much of Golovkin’s legacy is at stake on Sept.16?

Boxing is indeed the most brutal of sports for reasons that extend even beyond the physical punishment fighters absorb in the ring and mental strain accrued from spartan training camps and the unfathomable tension that perpetually follows them. Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs), like any great boxer, is no stranger to these challenges. But like few contemporary pugilists, he’s always been able to transcend them on fight night.

So, in many respects, the key to a Golovkin victory against Canelo Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) is simply doing precisely what has gotten him to this point one more time. Nothing more. Nothing less. And yet, if you canvass the fans rabidly anticipating this bout or poll the media members salivating at the prospect of covering a fight of such genuine substance shortly after Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor, there seems to be an underlying sense that certain forces and factors are converging at just the wrong time for Gennady Golovkin.

Much has been made of Golovkin’s struggles against Daniel Jacobs in his last contest, a narrow unanimous decision win where the Kazakh had to rely on his jab to eek out a points win. The Jacobs bout ended Golovkin’s 23-fight knockout streak, and it compounded some of the supposed flaws that were on display, albeit fleetingly, against Kell Brook.

Just over a year ago, before the Brook fight, Golovkin getting his shot at Canelo was viewed as an impending coronation for the man who has feasted on lesser middleweight contenders with ruthless ease. Now, a Canelo upset is a popular pick, and even those sticking with Golovkin seem inclined to concede that the match will go the distance and be highly competitive.

This may prove true, and a memorable contest where momentum seesaws would be an ideal outcome for boxing. But what does Golovkin have to do in order to satisfy a fanbase desperate for total vindication, as well as a contingent of doubters eager to finally play their “told you so” trump card? Is the only outcome that enhances Golovkin’s legacy one of utter dominance, whether by knockout or decision?

To put it bluntly: yes — at least in the eyes of most boxing fans. Gennady Golovkin’s aura, which he never aggressively cultivated, is built on the premise that he’s some Platonic ideal of a pressure fighter. Indeed, Golovkin is a master technician, cunning hunter of opponents and devastating puncher, but the expectations heaped upon him — the ludicrous notion that each fight will be a perfect stylistic offspring of its predecessor — is starting, through no fault of his own, to plague him.

This clashing of myth and reality means that a defeat at the hands of Canelo will discredit Golovkin to many fans, who will likely go on to argue that he was overhyped from the start and the beneficiary of weak opposition. While an early knockout loss to Canelo would justifiably damage Golovkin’s legacy to the point of perhaps making his hall of fame candidacy borderline, that prospect is so unfathomable that it ought to be dismissed entirely.

A convincing points loss on Sept. 16, though, is more intriguing in the sense that would highlight Canelo’s superiority as a boxer and fighter, a prospect that seemed laughable not so long ago. Should that outcome transpire, it will likely represent Golovkin’s one and only genuinely marquee fight. Would a flat performance, age catching up to him or Canelo simply proving to be better completely diminish the gaudy, unimpeachable statistics of his career? To many, yes.

There are some compelling numbers attached to Golovkin, with 18 middleweight title defenses, his knockout ratio of 89 percent and 23-fight stoppage streak standing out. But that’s not what actually defines the great Kazakh. Instead, Golovkin’s legacy is about the way he has reduced opponents to feeble husks of their best boxing selves, imposed his pressure style with technical grace and raw power, captured the imagination of boxing fans with his charisma and honestly striven to give the best of himself to a sport that only knows how to take.

Gennady Golovkin’s career is filled with indelible moments, but it lacks a defining one. And make no mistake, Canelo Alvarez is that potential foe. However, should Golovkin falter, it doesn’t have to erase or discredit all that came before. A loss will prevent him from ascending to certain heights still within his grasp, and rightfully so. But the mistaken perspective comes from flippantly assuming that Golovkin would be toppled from a perch instead of faltering on his way up.

Ultimately, what those who are confident in Golovkin’s legacy up to this point need to rely on boils down to only one thing that cannot be contradicted: what they saw. This goes beyond debating whether he’s a declining athelete, or how a Canelo fight would have played out two years ago. Boxing fans already understand Golovkin’s greatness. The evidence is readily available. Instead, the unanswered question is whether he still has it in him — and this goes beyond Canelo — to preface the phrase “great middleweight” with “all-time.”