By Brian Webber: Gennadiy Golovkin has confirmed that he will not retire following his 12-round unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez last Saturday night.
Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) says that depending on the type of offers he receives to fight at 168, he could either stay there or, more likely, return to 160 to defend all three of his world titles in that weight class.
Regardless of what Golovkin does, he’ll need to pick his opponents carefully because he doesn’t look like he has much left in the tank after seventeen years as a pro.
Was Golovkin getting paid?
Golovkin proved against Canelo last night that he doesn’t make adjustments on the fly like quality fighters must when facing A or B-tier opposition.
It literally took Golovkin seven rounds before he finally changed the game plans and got a little more aggressive against Canelo. Even then, Golovkin wasn’t attacking Canelo the way he needed to conclusively win rounds.
For the most part, Golovkin stayed on the outside, pummeling Canelo throughout the contest and not risking getting hit.
Fighting like that was a recipe for losing because you don’t beat a popular fighter like Canelo by hitting him.
Golovkin should have known after two fights with the Mexican star, but perhaps his intention was not to win but to survive the 12 rounds. That’s what it looked like to many boxing fans.
After the contest, Golovkin surprisingly boasted that he received no punishment and that his face was clean and unmarked.
Admittedly, Golovkin wasn’t as banged up as he was in the first two fights with Canelo, but he also hadn’t done enough to win the fight.
Two of the judges were too generous with Golovkin, scoring 115-113, 115-113. Arguably the third had the most accurate score of 116-112.
The question is, how can Golovkin be proud of not taking the punishment when he lost the fight for not being aggressive enough?
That suggests Golovkin was just there to survive and wasn’t trying to win. It goes along with what a lot of boxing fans have about GGG, that he was cashing in and not willing to put in the effort to try and win.
Gennady does not retire
“I am 40 years old and I am probably wiser than when I was 36. We all understand the rules of the game. We see it from a reasonable point of view. So the judges ruled on Canelo, and he was the winner of this fight,” Golovkin said when asked if he thought he had won.
“There was a plan to get Canelo closer, to let him open up so I could try to do what I wanted to do,” Golovkin continued. “Maybe it was too late in the game for it to really happen.”
You have to imagine that Golovkin’s trainer, Johnathon Banks, was furious that GGG took their time before finally changing the game plans.
Banks looked very animated in Golovkin’s corner from the fourth round, and you could tell he was trying to light a fire under him. You could tell Banks wanted Golovkin to go on the attack, but he didn’t.
“At the same time, I didn’t miss any big shots,” Golovkin said, bragging about not getting hit by Canelo. “You can look me in the face; It’s all clean. I look fresh. It’s probably because I started late, that I didn’t have enough time to stick to my game plan.”
Yes, Golovkin’s face was clean after the fight, but he gave up the fight for being too passive. When a fighter like Golovkin decides to play it safe, it means that he has accepted that defeat. Unfortunately, Golovkin was unwilling to go the extra mile.
“In fact, I still have the fire burning inside of me. I have a passion for boxing. do not forget; I have three belts in 160,” Golovkin said. “I feel great. I did not allow serious blows, and I am not tired; I am fresh. I feel the strength and I feel the power inside me. Of course, if an opportunity arises, I will look to continue in the ring.
“Depends on the offers you have [to fight at 168]. I have three belts at 160, so I have certain obligations in relation to that,” Golovkin said.
