Gennady Golovkin v Saul Alvarez: Big hype, money and reputations in Las
Gennady Golovkin v Saul Alvarez: Big hype, money and reputations in Las: Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin v Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has also been hailed as an antidote to the chaos of Floyd Mayweather’s win over UFC’s Conor McGregor by boxing purists.
Some ringside tickets for Saturday’s bout have sold for £18,000 each, two middleweight world titles will be on the line and in a throwback to some of the greatest fight nights Las Vegas has seen, two of the very best in their weight division go head to head.
If that is not enough, the bout falls on Mexican Independence Day, so the patriotic following Alvarez already attracts is expected to be heavily bolstered in Sin City. Here our pundits and some of the sport’s biggest names have their say.
Alvarez was a pro aged 15 and had fought 21 times by his 18th birthday
Alvarez has dubbed this his “most dangerous” fight. That is quite a statement from a 27-year-old who has been a professional for 12 years and has shared the ring with Floyd Mayweather.
‘Money’ inflicted the only defeat of Alvarez’s 51-fight career back in 2013.Even then, ‘Canelo’ – a nickname which translates as ‘cinnamon’ in reference to his red hair – was a big box-office draw as his defeat is currently the third-most-bought pay-per-view bout of all time.
The 2.2m buys of that night is unlikely to be beaten but pushing through the million mark will be key for boxing. Recently much-hyped fights involving Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev, as well as Golovkin’s last win against Daniel Jacobs, have not broke through 200,000 buys.
Alvarez will receive the bigger chunk of earnings and is expected to pocket a minimum of $15m (£11.3m) before pay-per-view bonuses are added. That will be the biggest haul of his career and some improvement on the $60 he says he picked up for his first fight, aged 15 in Mexico in 2005.
And he has been more vocal in selling a fight many in the sport have longed for. When head-to-head in the ring together in May, Alvarez responded to a seemingly sincere “good luck” wish from Golovkin by voicing back: “Luck is for the mediocre.”
He has stated his rival would “understand” what he is facing when the first punch lands and this week said: “I prepared myself for the knockout. Look, anything can happen in this fight. But that’s what I’ve prepared for – to knock him out.”
Golovkin has 37 wins from 37 fights, while Canelo has 49 wins and a draw from 51 bouts
But Golovkin has never been knocked out and has never been beaten. He dishes out the knockouts – 33 in 37 bouts to be precise. That stat points to why Alvarez talks of danger.
Boxing analyst Steve Bunce said: “The people who have been in with Golovkin – Kell Brook, Martin Murray, Matt Macklin – they say you’re prepared to be hit hard and then something else happens. Macklin said ‘it should be illegal’.”
An ESPN study of Golovkin’s technique earlier this year discovered the Kazakh fighter generates the type of power boxers two weight divisions – or around 15lbs heavier – produce. He also landed 10 blows a round more on average than others at middleweight and his punches flew at a speed similar to that of a top drag-racing car.
Formidable then, he is consequently a slight favourite with bookmakers. And his power should not mask a stunning amateur career and thorough schooling.
But now 35, some in the sport believe his last performance – a points success over Daniel Jacobs – was a little rusty. It was the first time in almost nine years that ‘GGG’ needed the judges’ scorecards.
Golovkin has stated emphatically that this is his greatest challenge. He missed the birth of his second child recently because of his commitment to his training camp in Big Bear, California.
“I want to win this fight because for me this win will be like a history fight, like so many fights, like Sugar Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler and others from that era,” he said. “Right now I think new stories, new times for us.”
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