Eddie Hearn says Canelo Alvarez fighting in a “ruthless’ manner is potentially “dangerous” against a big puncher like Gennadiy Golovkin on September 17th in their trilogy match.
Hearn says the 40-year-old Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) looks “great” for his age, and he feels he’s going to be stronger in coming up to 168 for this fight.
Golovkin not having to drain down to 160 like he’s done his entire career will rejuvenate him, making him stronger for this fight, and likely more dangerous.
Hearn says Canelo is like a “Rottweiler” dog with the way he attacks his opponents and he’s not sure that’s the best thing to do against a stronger, more vibrant version of Golovkin on September 17th in their headliner on DAZN PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Canelo to be ruthless
“I think he looks great. People talk about his age. I think he looks great,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype about 40-year-old Gennady Golovkin.
“I really believe 168 is going to help him a lot because you can’t, in my opinion, fight at the same weight for as many years as he’s been doing.
“You saw in the [Ryota] Murata fight that it was difficult to make that weight. He’s going to be bigger & stronger at 168 and he’s going to be more robust.
“Canelo is like a Rottweiler. He’s got to be a little bit careful. He said in the media huddle earlier, you were there, that he’s going to go like he’s ruthless, almost like he’s going to go without fear.
“To do that against a huge puncher like Gennady Golovkin, for the fans and for us, it’s incredible. But it’s a very, very dangerous way to fight Gennadiy Golovkin, although he did it in the second fight [in 2018], but I feel that this fight won’t go 12 rounds,” Hearn said.
In their second fight in 2018, Canelo was able to get Golovkin to take much of the steam off his shots so that he could increase the chances of him landing. That helped Canelo.
Unlike WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, Golovkin doesn’t throw combinations, so it’s tougher for him against a fighter like Canelo because he puts himself at risk of getting hit by counter shots.
Canelo has been brought up to deal with fighters that load up on single shots, so he knows how to deal with the Golovkin types by countering them.
But against a fighter like Bivol, who throws sustained combinations of three or more shots, Canelo shells up and is afraid to throw counters because he’s too busy defending.
If Golovkin is able to throw combinations as Bivol did, he’s going to be a pure nightmare for Canelo on September 17th.
But it’s questionable whether Golovkin will even bother to change his style of fighting. He’s kind of like a dog that can’t learn new tricks and doesn’t even want to try.
Golovkin’s assistance to use an interpreter to translate despite living in the U.S for many years shows you his mindset. He seems afraid to look bad by trying his English and being teased about it.
For Golovkin to change his fighting style to throw combinations like Bivol, it would require change, and unfortunately, he seems resistant to trying new things.
During Golovkin’s loss to Canelo in 2018, his trainer Abel Sanchez repeatedly told him between rounds to attack. But instead of following Sanchez’s instructions, Golovkin backed up and mostly jabbed, which wasn’t going to win rounds against Canelo.
Alvarez not faking animosity
“I never seen him like that,” Hearn said about the animosity Canelo has shown Golovkin since they began their press tours. “To be honest with you, I wasn’t involved with that fight,” Hearn said about the anger Canelo showed for Caleb Plant in their recent fight last November.
“After that, he [Canelo] calmed down a little bit, but this is deeper. From the first fight, like I said, you don’t need Canelo Alvarez to sell pay-per-views.
“You would never say to Canelo, ‘At the head-to-head, make sure you get up close to him.’ He’s too big a star for that. He’s doing it off his own back, and he did it again today.
“There’s something inside him for this fight, and he wants Gennadiy to say what he’s been saying to the media.
“That’s why I called those quotes out today because, on one hand, Gennadiy says, ‘I respect him, it’s not about that.’ On the other hand, you look at what he said.
“I think it’s important for GGG, that face of respect and sportsmanship in the sport. I don’t think he wants to play that game, but he said it in the past. He said it probably out of frustration or after a fight or when he was provoked.
Golovkin feels he’ll be at his best
“There was a little bit more from him up there when he talked about, he feels like it’s going to be the best GGG you’ve ever seen in this fight. Him and Johnathon Banks truly believe they will win this fight. It’s a tough ask, but I think it’s going to be a thriller.
“This [Canelo vs. Golovkin] is the natural fight to make. It’s the biggest fight in boxing, and I don’t see other fights that motivate either man.
“For Canelo Alvarez, there are only two fights he’s interested in. This one and the Bivol rematch. Other than that, do the fights motivate him? They become money fights.
“I don’t think Canelo Alvarez is in the game for money fights. That’s why you saw him move up to 175 to fight Bivol. He wants to be challenged, he wants to be tested, so I just feel these are the kinds of fights that excite him.
“For GGG, to have to go to Japan after what was nearly 500 days out of the ring in Murata’s backyard to stop him in a performance where people said, ‘Oh, he didn’t do that good.’ For two rounds, he looked rusty in that fight.
“I think he finds it hard to make 160. He still went through the gears and smashed him to pieces and stopped him [Murata] in Tokyo to unify the division.
“So, you’re going to see a strong, robust Gennady Golovkin on September 17th, and I agree, I don’t think either fighter will take a step backward,” said Hearn.
