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All summer long, the Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor fight got all the headlines because fight fans were intrigued with the concept of the super-fight between the legendary boxer and the UFC champion.
Now that that spectacle is over, all eyes are on the best boxing fight of the year between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez.
For those new to the boxing scene, this fight has been in the works for years, as fans want to see an exciting fight between two hard hitters.
And, after the snooze fest that was the Mayweather vs Pacquiao bout, we all might finally be treated with some excitement and hopefully a knockout.
- Date: Sept. 16
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
- TV: Order GGG-Canelo on HBO PPV
- Stream it: CaneloGGG.com
Canelo Alvarez Analysis
Alvarez comes into this fight with a 49-1-1 record, with his one professional loss coming at the hands of Floyd Mayweather, who dominated Alvarez when they fought in 2013.
Alvarez has won seven fights since the Mayweather fight and believes he is at the best he has ever been professionally.
For years, Alvarez and boxing fans have wanted to see a fight between the Mexican and knockout artist Golovkin, but the fight never materialized because Oscar De La Hoya wanted to build up the anticipation for the fight.
Instead of fighting Golovkin after the Mayweather fight, Alvarez fought and defeated the likes of Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan, and Julio Cesar Chavez.
The Chavez fight might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back because it was so lopsided and fans were upset with De La Hoya not only for scheduling the fight, but also for pretending it was anything more than a glorified sparring session as Alvarez dominated Chavez.
After listening to fans complain and threaten not to watch another fight if it’s not against GGG, De La Hoya finally agreed to set the fight.
For whatever reason, Alvarez is not a fighter that garners the respect of some of the Mexican boxing fanbase.
Even with his obvious talents, some expect him to be more of a fighter akin to Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., who he’ll never be. Nevertheless, Alvarez has established his own style, one that may suit him against Golovkin.
Alvarez is going into the fight as the underdog, he’s odds of winning the fight are currently at +140.
The obvious undertone behind the line, is Golovkin’s hard-hitting power and whether or not Alvarez’ chin can hold up if he get clocked at any point in the fight.
Without a doubt, the fact that Golovkin has knocked out 23 consecutive opponents until his bout with Daniel Jacobs, has to hang on Alvarez’ mind.
Nevertheless, Alvarez is probably also aware of the fact that waiting such a long time for this fight to happen probably favors him because of Golovkin’s age.
Gennady Golovkin Analysis
GGG comes into the fight with a 37-0 record, 33 of the wins coming by knockout.
The 35-year-old Kazakhstan native quickly became a fan favorite thanks to his fighting style and ability to knock opponents out, which always provides excitement in boxing matches.
Golovkin and his camp had been hoping to fight Floyd Mayweather before he retired.
But, Mayweather knew all about GGG’s knockout power and seemingly avoided the fight like the black plague.
The fact that Mayweather announced his return from his two-year retirement to fight McGregor didn’t phase Golovkin.
Even if it might seem that “Money Maker” was stealing his thunder, in Golovkin’s eyes there’s a big difference between the two fights.
“This is big difference," Golovkin told CBS Sports. "If you want to watch a comedy show or a business show, then please watch Mayweather and McGregor. Everybody understands that my fight with Canelo is a true fight, it is a boxing fight and is about respect and sport.”
When Mayweather retired after the Berto fight, GGG turned his sights to Alvarez, who was the next best thing.
For a while, GGG kept calling Alvarez out but despite Alvarez saying he was willing to fight him, they couldn’t get the fight to happen.
Of course, at 35, nobody knows how long Golovkin's prime will last, which made it frustrating to see Alvarez and promoter Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy continually pushing back on when the fight would take place.
However, now that the date is set, and even though GGG hasn’t fought as many big name boxers as Alvarez has, he is the favorite going into the fight with -160 odds to win.
This is largely due to the fact that he is a knockout machine. Golovkin also believes his fight with Daniel Jacobs prepared him well to defeat Alvarez.
And, in an uncharacteristic outburst over questions regarding how close his win over Jacobs was, among other things, Golovkin broke his silence and even downplayed Alvarez’ victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
"I am not Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and Canelo is no Danny Jacobs," Golovkin said. "There are no survivors in my fights. Boxing is a business. If I look great against Jacobs … if I knocked him out, I would not be getting this fight with Canelo now."
Now that he has an opportunity to establish himself as one of the best, if not the best boxers around, expect him to go for a quick knockout.
Pick and Prediction
GGG’s power earns him a lot of respect, but Alvarez is also capable of landing a knockout and has never been knocked out in his career. Despite GGG’s power, I think Alvarez is a more rounded boxer, which will help him earn the win.
