Gennadiy Golovkin definitely didn’t get the result he wanted on Saturday, losing a decision to Canelo Alvarez that no one is arguing with other than thinking the judges scored the fight too close, but GGG, 40, says he will keep fighting.
Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) said in the ring after the fight that he would look to continue in the ring, as he still holds the WBA and IBF middleweight titles, emphasizing that he has no intention of retiring. during his post-fight press conference.
GGG also discussed his approach to the fight, his success in the later rounds and whether Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) was better than before.
On starting slow in the fight
“It was probably a tactical error on my part to start slow, but on the other hand we wanted to see how the fight played out. I think we both started off pretty slow, we did a little bit of recon, and that recon probably went too long for me.”
About the score of the fight
“It’s not up to me to talk about scoring. I just did my job, and if the judges get those scores, that’s their call.”
About what he had planned to do before the fight
“The strategy was to win this fight, and we should not attribute my loss to strategy. It felt great and those minor shots that Canelo hit with didn’t surprise me. Maybe I wasn’t that successful with my shots and ultimately the judges scored in his favor.”
On how he and Canelo “crushed the meat” so quickly after the fight
“I have always said that I felt no animosity in our rivalry; he was the one who said it was personal. My response to that was: ‘Why did he wait so many years for this fight to happen?’ But after the fight, when we looked into each other’s eyes, we no longer had (problems) with each other. We congratulated each other, said, ‘Excellent fight,’ and moved on. We realize that at this level, this sport is very dangerous. We were very happy with how this fight turned out and how our rivalry ended.”
About how he felt about the decision.
“I am 40 years old and I am probably wiser than when I was 36. We all understand the rules of the game. We are looking at that from the reasonable point of view. The judges ruled in Canelo’s favor and he was announced as the winner of this fight.”
On whether he saw anything in the Bivol fight that gave him ideas
“There was a plan to bring Canelo closer, to let him open up, so that I could try to do what I wanted to do. Maybe it was too late in the game that it really started to (work), but at the same time, I didn’t (receive) any heavy hits. You can look at my face, she is clean, I look fresh. But since I started late in the fight, I didn’t have enough time to stick to my game plan.”
About whether he could ever think about fighting again when he got home.
“I still have this fire burning inside of me, I have this passion for boxing, and don’t forget I have (two world title) belts at 160. I still feel great. I didn’t (take) any serious shots. I’m not tired, I’m fresh. I feel the strength and power within me. If the opportunity comes, I will look to continue in the ring.”
On whether he plans to go back down to 160
“Everything will depend on the offers you can receive. I have (two world titles) belts in 160, as I said, and certain obligations with that.
In what you take tonight
“I don’t think about the loss. It’s not something that’s on my mind right now. It was a great fight, and it was a very clean fight. We do not allow any mistakes. The fight was very competitive, and especially in the second half I felt like I did better than my opponent.”
On whether Canelo was stronger at 168 than at 160
“I don’t want to underestimate his victory, but I didn’t feel like he was faster or stronger. The shots that came were not strong enough, and in the second half, he even lost some speed and power. I think even in the beginning, neither of us fought much. The number of shots taken was less than in the second half. But there are no surprises for me at all.”
