16th September 2017. Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin will finally enter the squared ring to contest the WBC, WBA AND IBF world middleweight titles. The fight will take place at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Red Corner
In the red corner, coming all the way from karaganda, Kazakhstan, our champion, Gennady GGG Golovkin. He comes to the ring with a perfect record of 37 fights, 37 wins, 0 losses. 33 of those wins came by way of Knockout(89% K.O. ratio). He stands at 5'10.5"/179cm and has a reach of 70"/178cm. He is 35 years old. GGG is currently the unified middleweight champion of the world, holding all three major world titles, the WBC,WBA and IBF belts
Blue Corner
And in the blue corner, hailing from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Saul Canelo Alvarez. He enters the ring with an impressive record of 51 fights, 49 wins, only 1 loss and 1 draw. 34 of his wins come by way of knockout (67% K.O. ratio). He stands at 5'9"/175cm and has a reach of 70.5"/179cm. He is 27 years old. Canelo is a three time, two weight world champion at light middleweight and middleweight.
The Stake
The winner walks away with the title of undisputed middleweight champion of the world, and a respectable and legitimate claim to the pound for pound title. They also, most probably, become the biggest earning star in the sport of boxing, and of course they get the w on their record and bragging rights.
Why did it take so long
Both men have been recognised boxing superstars for quite a while now. Both having won multiple world titles, gaining fans and plaudits alike for fighting a host of good hard working competition, but at the same time avoiding the very best in their divisions. So why did it take so long? Its a good question, but as always, you'll get different answers depending on who you ask.
If you ask anyone associated to Golovkin's camp, it has been Alvarez who has avoided the fight. Vice versa, If you ask anyone associated to the Alvarez camp, then it has been Golovkin who has avoided the fight.
The truth is probably more business related than anything else. A smart marketing ploy to build up expectation for the fight, while also building up the purse reward of both fighters and the coffers of anyone associated with the fight. But in the end boxing wins, because the fight is actually happening, too often have big named fighters avoided each other.
The fighters
Although the younger man, Alvarez, in my opinion has the experience, He has been involved in the much bigger fights and against the much better opponents, Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather. Although the latter beat him, he would had learned an immense amount from that loss and gained invaluable experience. Canelo is a boxer/puncher who likes utilise his speed and reflexes to land punishing counter punches. He will have the advantage in hand speed and footwork, and will look to keep a little space between himself and Golovkin.
Golovkin is a come forward inside fighter, who has a vast amount of boxing ability. He is very heavy handed and throws his punches from unique and interesting angles. His power usually overwhelms his opposition. Triple G, has an air of invincibility about him, similar to that of Mike Tyson in his prime, and like Tyson in his prime, a lot of his competition are psychological beaten before they enter the ring. The power will sit firmly in GGG's corner. Golovkin will look to get in close and work on the inside.
Prediction
I predict that Alvarez will edge this one, either by late stoppage or points victory. Unlike most of Golovkin's opponents of late (excluding Jacobs), I don't see Alvarez being afraid. Golovkin was a little exposed in his last fight against Daniel Jacobs, who showed that the man does have weaknesses that can be exploited. He doesn't like fighters who can keep him on the outside. and I think Alvarez has enough power and boxing acumen to utilize this advantage to great effect, keeping just enough distance between the two to land his own punches while avoiding Golovkin's.
Another thing that makes me believe that Alvarez will win, is Golovkin's record. He is 35 years old and has had 37 fights, but to date, has avoided fighting any elite level fighters who have thrown down the gauntlet. I've noticed that usually when this occurs in fighters records, they fail when they make the step up. It is a sign, at least to me, that someone in their camp, be it on the coaching side or promotional side, or even the fighter themselves, has noticed a weakness, and they don't want to lose their cash cow. Maybe in this case I'm wrong, I guess we will all find out on fight night.
Alvarez for the win
Happy viewing
PICS
pixabay
SOURCES
http://boxrec.com
This post is one in a series of planned posts about upcoming boxing events titled red corner, blue corner. If you like what you've read keep an eye out, or better still follow me @steem-d-anlovnit
Keep steemin and keep well
Just a side note, I am having a little trouble finding free to reuse images. If anyone has any tips or advice it would be greatly appreciated.