After 48 months and a couple of days of waiting, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will be again the stage where the Mexican Saul “Canelo” Álvarez and the Kazakh Gennady ¨Triple G¨ Golovkin will fight for the third time, and the capacity of 20 thousand people will surely be filled by the fans of the world who are waiting to see who is the best boxer.
To advance an irrefutable prediction for this fight would be a temerity, although it is sensible to assume a hypothetical victory for the Mexican who has in his favor his age: 8 years younger than his opponent; weight: Canelo has fought at 160 and 168 pounds; quality, Canelo is considered one of the best like Bernard “ET” Hopkins, Marvin “Wonderful” Hagler and in the 20’s the “Michigan Killer”, Stanley Ketchel.
For the first time in the history of Latin America, the WBA, IBF, WBC, and WBO super middleweight crowns, owned by Alvarez, will be at stake in Las Vegas.
8 AND 4 FIGHTS IN TWO YEARS
The Guadalajara native and the Kazakh fought for the first time on September 16, 2017 in a fight that ended in a draw with cards of the unusual score of 118-110, 113-115 and 115-113, a decision booed by the spectators, who considered Triple G the winner.
Then came their second bout on September 15, 2018, which Canelo won by an also questionable score – two judges voted 115-113 in favor of Canelo, and a 114-114 draw from the third judge.
Before Saturday’s fight was be signed, the Mexican had fought 8 times, 7 of which he won 7 with one setback, all in championship fights, namely: England’s Rocky Fielding, WKO 3; Daniel Jacobs (USA), in May 2019, WUD12; Russia’s Sergei Kovalev, WTKO11 in November 2019; England’s Callum Smith, WUD12, December 2020; Turkey’s Avni Yildirim, WTKO 3 in February 2021; Billy Joe Saunders, UK, won in WKO 8 rounds in May 2021, Caleb Plant (EU), in November 2021 and Kurdistan’s Dmitrii Bivol in a disappointing performance for his supporters for the Light Heavyweight belt.
As for GGG, he has only fought 4 times in the last 4 years, a reduced activity that could also work against him in the Saturday fight. In the last 46 months the Kazakh has defeated Steve Rolls by TKO9 in June 2019; Ukraine’s Sergey Derevyanchenko WUD 12; Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta in WKO7 rounds in December 2021. Finally, in April this year he bounced back from an uncertain start and knocked out Japan’s Ryota Murata in 9 for the WBA medium and super middleweight and his own IBF and IBO belts.
5 DETAILS OF EACH SIDE
We close this note by highlighting, in my opinion, five comparative details of both fighters.
“CANELO” COULD WIN BECAUSE:
1. Youth: the Mexican is 32 years old, 8 years younger than GGG.
2. Punch: Even though GGG has a bigger punch, Canelo is a consistent puncher.
3. By KO: Even though the KO is supposed to lean towards GGG, the Aztec’s victory by KO is not out of the question.
4. By points: If the fight goes 12 rounds, Alvarez could be the winner.
5. Opponents: A review of the record of both fighters shows that “Canelo” has faced more renowned opponents.
GENNADY GOLOVKIN COULD WIN BECAUSE:
1- Knockout power: 37 knockouts in 42 victories, show the power of the middleweight champion.
2- Stamina: GGG is a Granite Fighter. He has never been knocked down, in amateur nor professional, in 391fights.
3- Style: He is a rare, singular case. He combines the European style, methodical, without rushing, with the aggressiveness of a Mexican boxer.
4- Experience: Alvarez has more professional fights, but the Kazakh had an extensive amateur campaign.
5- Draw: Although the possibility of a draw is considered remote, it is not far-fetched.
