Golovkin: ‘I won the first two [Canelo] fights, the third would be the same’

Golovkin: 'I won the first two [Canelo] fights, the third would be the same'
By Rob Smith - 04/08/2022 - Comments

Gennadiy Golovkin believes he already beat Canelo Alvarez two times, so he’s not worried about fighting him a third time this September. Many fans would agree with Golovkin, believing that even at 40, he’s too good for Canelo and will get the better of him.

For Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) and Golovkin to meet in September, they still need to win their next fights. Canelo is fighting WBA 175lb champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7th, whereas Golovkin will be battling Ryota Murata this Saturday night.

We’re going to know by tomorrow night whether Golovkin has put himself in a position to fight Canelo in September. Unfortunately, the fans will still need to wait until Canelo’s fight with Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) before finding out if he’ll fight Golovkin in September.

Canelo and his trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso haven’t said what they plan on doing if they fail to defeat Bivol. Do they run it back or move on and face Golovkin anyway?

If Bivol dominates Canelo as he did Joe Smith Jr and Sullivan Barrera, it’s possible that the Mexican superstar won’t take the risk of pushing for a rematch with the talented Russian fighter.

“I think it is the biggest fight that is feasible,” Golovkin said to ESPN about a trilogy match with Canelo. “I thought I won the first two, so winning the third one would be the same to me.

“Nothing would change for me. The reason I think it is a big fight is because we have already given the fans two fantastic fights,” said GGG.

Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) feels that he’s got Canelo’s number, and he’ll beat him no problem if they meet on September 17th as part of the Mexican star’s three-fight deal with Matchroom & DAZN.

Golovkin: 'I won the first two [Canelo] fights, the third would be the same'

Fans are split in who they felt won the second Canelo-Golovkin fight, but there’s no confusion over who won the first fight in 2017.

That was a clear win for Golovkin, even though Nevada judges scored the fight a 12 round draw. The boxing world didn’t respect the judges’ decision, and to this day, fans view the fight as a loss for Canelo.

What was surprising is Canelo wanted to return to the exact location at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. That was a bizarre move by Canelo. If you look at it logically, why would Canelo want to return to the same venue where the boxing world believed he was given a gift draw? It doesn’t make sense.

“Many people from around the world watched them,” said Golovkin. “The fans know what to expect, and I think they want to see more of what we gave them the first two times.”

“That is a question that will be answered on the night of the fight,” Golovkin said. “Even 2 pounds can affect a fighter in a good way or a bad way.”

It’s a long shot that Canelo will get past Bivol on May 7th, and he may need a knockout to get the win. Bivol is too solid for Canelo to stop him, and there’s no way that the Mexican star will outbox or outwork the unbeaten 175lb champion.

This writer is predicting now that Canelo will get a worse boxing lesson than the one Floyd Mayweather Jr. administered to him nine years ago in 2013. Bivol is levels above Canelo in talent, and you’re going to see that on display on the night.

Fans have gotten a warped view of Canelo’s ability, shaped by his wins over a weak bunch of champions and old guys like Danny Jacobs and Sergey Kovalev.

Don’t get me wrong, Canelo is a good fighter, but he’s a counterpuncher with a low work rate, and he fades late in his fights. He doesn’t move well and is incapable of throwing combinations like Bivol. On top of that, Canelo is undersized at 5’8″, much too tiny to fight elite light heavyweights like Bivol, Joe Smith Jr., and Artur Beterbiev.

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