By Adam Baskin: Gennadiy Golovkin sent a message to Canelo Alvarez and the fans at today’s weigh-in when he told them they know who the “true champion” is.
Golovkin’s (42-1-1, 37 KOs) comment was a shot at Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs), who has been saved from two losses against him, thanks to the Nevada judges who worked his fights. in 2017 and 2018.
Golovkin thinks he should have raised his hand in those two fights, and he made it clear to fans today that he’s still bitter about it.
During the buildup to the fight, Golovkin has done an admirable job of hiding his true feelings about those two fights, saying that he has no bad blood with Canelo and that the trilogy fight is not personal to him.
Today, it was obvious that Golovkin has been boiling over his resentment all this time for what happened to him in those two matchups with Canelo, and he intends to level the score on Saturday.
Golovkin looked in excellent shape weighing in at 167 3/4 pounds compared to Canelo’s 167 1/2 pounds. Although Golovkin seemed a bit fatigued from the weight loss, he wasn’t too bad for his recent fights, weighing in at 160.
“It is not new. It’s always the same,” Gennadiy Golovkin said when asked at weigh-in what he saw on Canelo Alvarez’s face during the matchup.
“No comment,” GGG said when told that Canelo is looking to stop the fight early.
“Today is the biggest day. Last night was the biggest day for all Mexicans, Independence Day. Congratulations guys. The biggest day for the country. Congratulations guys.
“I want to count, not only my people. All boxing fans. Come on guys. If you’re a true boxing fan, you know who the real champion is,” Golovkin said.
“I think it’s an important fight for Canelo. Two losses in a row would demystify him. A loss to Golovkin would probably force him to take a fourth fight against his rival to try and avenge that loss,” Chris Mannix told DAZN’s JABS.
“I look at GGG and see that this fight could define a legacy. Golovkin has been one of boxing’s biggest stars for more than a decade.
“Since he came to the US and started knocking guys out on HBO and now DAZN, he has become one of the most recognizable figures in boxing.
“If you look at his resume, he’s not one of the strongest. You have guys like Daniel Jacobs in there. That was probably the best win of his. David Lemieux, that was a world title fight. That was another quality win when that fight happened.
“After that, you look at his record, and there aren’t a lot of W’s next to the big names. It can certainly be argued that Golovkin deserved to win the first fight against Canelo. There was at least one atrocious scorecard in that fight. A decision was probably stolen from him there.
“He didn’t get it. He lost, I think, quite a bit the second fight against Canelo. He needs this victory to truly establish himself as one of the great fighters of this generation.
“He’s definitely one of the most entertaining guys. He’s been a knockout artist ever since he picked up a pair of boxing gloves, but in terms of resume, in terms of legacy, I think he needs this win.
“If he loses to Canelo, he leaves and probably retires. Enter the Hall of Fame? Maybe. I think his resume is a little thinner. while Canelo, even if he loses, is still in his early 30s. He still has time to polish his resume for years to come. For Golovkin, this could be his last chance,” Mannix said.
