Gennadiy Golovkin tells us to forget about the first two fights with Canelo Alvarez. This third meeting is different, he insists, it is a contest in which both start anew, but in which justice must prevail, writes Brian Doogan.
High in the San Bernardino Mountains, a couple of hours east of Los Angeles, surrounded by a towering pine forest and with unobstructed views of the shimmering majestic Big Bear Lake and the adjacent resort town, Gennadiy Golovkin exudes a confident that borders on serenity.
In no sporting setting other than boxing does defeat carry a potentially devastating consequence, nor can the meaning of defeat be so instantaneous and far-reaching. Fighters, especially those who strive to be great, risk their own legitimacy when they enter the brightly lit arena of their dark trade, but the prevailing sentiment that emerges from an audience with Golovkin in this remote California retreat is that of a men. completely at peace with his impending day of reckoning.
Neither hyperbole nor notable revelation figures prominently in conversation with the former middleweight world champion, who tends to process his arguments more emphatically with the gloves on. In 44 fights, the only blemishes in his record, a draw in September 2017 and a majority decision loss 12 months later, have been inflicted on him by the man he will face for the third time on September 17 at T-Mobile Arena. from Las Vegas, Cinnamon. Alvarez, for the super middleweight world title, but there is not a hint in Golovkin’s demeanor or daily routine to suggest that he is anything more than an embodiment of equanimity on the eve of The Trilogy, in keeping with the vibe at Big Bear of tranquility by the lake.
He rises before dawn and embarks with his team on a three- to four-and-a-half-mile morning run (extended to nine miles on Saturdays) over mountainous terrain 7,000 feet above sea level, supplemented by stretches and other drills. basics. Eggs, oatmeal, juice and water (he drinks copious amounts of water throughout the day) are breakfast staples and the drum echo of his hands, covered in black hangman’s bandages, in the heavy bag marks afternoon work in the gym. in which rigorous strength and conditioning exercises underscore his conscientiousness. The behind-closed-doors sparring sessions—for as long as most of his bouts, a virtuoso recital—combine the rhythmic percussion of precise strikes with a deliberate and learned plan of attack. His compact, muscular body is taut and his firm-lined face, with an almost golden glow, convincingly conveys the vitality he will need in abundance against an opponent who is eight years his junior, subtly skilled, and physically formidable.
At 40, a lion with winter approaching, Golovkin positively rejoices in the knowledge that he stands on the precipice of another “peak fight.” While he readily recognizes the risk to both his well-being and his reputation, he is deeply reassured by the diligent intensity of his preparation. The knowledge that Canelo is coming off just the second loss of his 61-fight career has further inoculated Golovkin with the disease of complacency. As always, he is motivated as much by the duty of a soldier as by the aura of greatness synonymous with his name or even the gravity of the challenge that lies ahead of him.
“Like any soldier, you must learn to love not only your profession, but also all your responsibilities,” Golovkin explains with quiet authority through an interpreter, as he prepares for the afternoon’s work. “Every soldier wants to be a general and right now I am a general and I enjoy all the perks associated with it. But a soldier has to earn his rank, which he doesn’t just do on the battlefield, or in my case in the boxing ring, but in the way he does his job every day.
“I’m in camp right now preparing for this pinnacle fight of my career and I feel a lot of responsibility. It’s hard to describe what goes through my mind, but I’m happy to be putting up with all this strenuous workload, happy to be able to train and meet such a difficult schedule, also with so much pressure. The pressure isn’t something I feel, but I know it’s there and I’m actually excited about it.
“Yes, I am 40 years old, but I still participate in a big boxing event like this, a pinnacle fight as I call it. This is the biggest fight I have available against the biggest opponent in the middleweight or super middleweight division. Who wouldn’t want this? That people from all over the world want to see this fight is also motivating, although it is difficult to explain why it is important to me exactly. I don’t think it’s just the challenge with Canelo. I have certain commitments with DAZN and at some point they offered me this fight against Canelo and I was like, ‘Yeah sure, why not?’ So it’s not that it’s Canelo. The reason I train the way I do, with such dedication and serious focus every day, is so that I can show the best Gennadiy Golovkin in the ring on fight night. I think I will be able to live up to expectations.
“Some people are skeptical because of my age. I realize this and it is their right, but they will not go into the ring. I’m the one that’s going to be in the ring with Canelo, so I’m taking every precaution and I’m working on a lot of details for a lot of questions so I can protect myself and get out of this. Fight without trauma. Not just without trauma, although this is important, but with a winning performance. All this preparation will be conducive to a great fight. This is what I truly believe in and this is why I have worked so hard during this camp.”
If age and its inexorable erosive properties is one of the great imponderables of their third fight, it’s not the only one for Golovkin and Canelo. The Mexican, who suffered his first loss at the masterful hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr nine years ago and prior to his prodigious development into an irrepressible looter of weight divisions from welterweight to light heavyweight, was controlled from a distance and blunted and Subdued beyond recognition by unknown light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol of Russia four months ago at T-Mobile Arena. His quick return to 168 represents a sort of homecoming to his natural domain, and Golovkin doesn’t subscribe to the theory that Canelo’s confidence, as well as his ego, may have been indelibly wounded by Bivol.
Nor does the Kazakh, who is reminded of home by the mountains, the pine trees, the food, the reassuring presence of his close-knit team and the simplicity of life during training camp in Big Bear, consider his first two fights with Canelo they are to be significantly revealing of the battle ahead.
“I see this as a new fight, a new fight, very different from our first two fights,” he insists. “We have new people in our team [Golovkin has been trained for the first time by Johnathon Banks, an understudy of Emanuel Steward who worked previously with Wladimir Klitschko] and it’s a different weight class [Golovkin is stepping up from middleweight for the first time]. Those two fights won’t matter much for this third match.
“At 168 pounds, I think I’ll be strong and ready for a tough 12 rounds. As for Canelo, he will take the fight very seriously. His attitude will change from what it was in his preparation for the Bivol fight. He is a very experienced boxer with a very high boxing IQ and is also a very capable athlete. When we fought before, I said that there are few fighters of his caliber who can perform at that level. But the fight with Bivol also showed that it is possible to outmaneuver Canelo and win. You don’t need a knockout. It is possible by choice. This is going to be an intriguing boxing match, I think. We will both try various approaches and ultimately see who will come out on top.”
Only once in the conversation does Golovkin indulge in psychological warfare and, tellingly, this relates to Canelo’s failed test for the banned substance, clenbuterol, in the build-up to their 2018 rematch, to which the Mexican blamed for eating contaminated meat while dining. with former US President Bill Clinton at the Sonora Grill after watching baseball in his hometown of Guadalajara.
“I feel like an ambassador of fair play and I know that many people look up to me in the hope that justice will prevail,” he declares. “I’m looking at this fight from that point of view, that fair play and honesty should come back to our sport of boxing.”
The story is also in his mind. “That we are about to engage in a trilogy fight is something very special for boxing fans,” she acknowledges. “I know about Tony Zale and Rocky Graziano and of course Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Trilogies often elevate the greatness of the fighters who take part in them, whether they win or lose. I admire so many of these legendary fighters and the fantastic fights and rivalries they got involved in and am honored that I am about to do the same.”
For GGG and Canelo, The Trilogy will cement a rivalry more bitter than the Kazakh is willing to admit. His has been a glorious career but he is aware of the danger of defeat now, unfair as it may be, to become the defining. Boxing is cruel and unforgiving, but Golovkin bears his hopes and fears with grace. A stoic before the storm.
“I want to be true to myself,” he says. “I love boxing and in return I hope boxing loves me.”
