By: Sean Crose
They last saw each other four long years ago. Canelo Álvarez won that night, beating the feared Gennady Golovkin by virtue of a controversial decision by the judge. The wrestlers’ careers have gone in very different directions since that time. Canelo, for the most part, remains the biggest name in boxing. Golovkin, on the other hand, was almost semi-retired. Most would argue that his impending third fight, taking place Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, would be a foregone conclusion … or, that is, they would have if Canelo hadn’t lost the fight. his last fight. a failed attempt to wrest the WBA light heavyweight title from the waist of Dmitry Bivol.
Now people are not so sure… or at least not as sure as before. Aside from his two previous battles with Canelo, the fighter known as GGG hasn’t seen much wear and tear in the ring. Again, the man only had four fights since Canelo’s second bout (the first fight between the two came in 2017 and ended in a controversial draw. Most felt GGG should have won). Still, the Kazakh warrior is not a child at the age of 40. Also, he hasn’t always looked his best in the last 4 years.
Just ask Sergey Derevyenchenko, who some felt did enough to beat GGG when he lost to the popular fighter in 2019. There’s no question, however, that Canelo is coming off a tough loss. Before meeting Bivol, the guy hadn’t lost since he faced the great Floyd Mayweather in 2013. Such things can shock the psyche. Even more telling, though, might be the fact that GGG really does seem to have the ability to get inside Canelo’s head. There is a genuine dislike between these two, and Canelo needs to be cool as ice on Saturday.
Of course, there is talk that Canelo-GGG 3 is past its expiration date. Maybe it’s past its premium date, but there’s no doubt that this is extremely interesting to watch. Does GGG have enough to pull off a win of this magnitude at the age of 49…and a super middleweight, no less? Can Canelo get back to his best form, the kind of form that had made him seem almost invincible for the last couple of years before losing to Bivol? These are questions worth discovering the answer to.
