LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 17: Canelo Alvarez (red trunks) trades punches with Gennadiy Golovkin (white trunks) in the fight for the Super Middleweight Title at T-Mobile Arena on September 17, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The trilogy ends with a whimper.
The pre-fight hype was pretty effective. Check out our top
boxing odds.
DAZN, the online network that aired the pay-per-view bout, had wanted the fight a few years ago.
They had signed Gennadiy Golovkin to a six-fight contract in 2019 – with the thinking being a third fight with Canelo Alvarez was right around the corner. It turned out to be a pretty long corner.
The problem was when it happened; it was too late. Golovkin, who looked partially over the hill three years ago, had climbed further up said hill since.
He was barely a shadow of his old self.
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“Golovkin is not the same as before,” said the great Roberto Duran to Fight Hub TV. “I saw him washed. His mind didn’t help him. He didn’t think well. In boxing, you have to think a lot.”
I agree and disagree with the ex-champ. Golovkin is past it, for sure, but his mind is still there, it’s just he can’t react fast enough to the messages his brain is sending him.
Washington Post writer Shirley Povich remembered how Joe Louis looked near the end of his career.
“His reflexes dulled, and the ring lights above exposing the round bald spot making headway on his scalp.”
Against Alvarez, Golovkin looked sluggish and reluctant.
Yes, reluctant.
To engage.
Last April, Golovkin stopped former titleholder Ryota Murata in nine rounds but didn’t look very good.
Perhaps boxing fans and writers were comparing him too much to his younger knockout self – or he was overrated in his salad days.
Golovkin’s resume is not as impressive as Alvarez’s, but Golovkin was 30 when he debuted in America.
I’ll never say Golovkin is a great boxer. His fights (due to shrewd management) turned into events. A few years ago, he knocked out 20 successive opponents. He was exciting to watch.
I have no doubt (after watching the fight numerous times) that he beat Alvarez five years ago. The second fight was closer – a draw would have been fine.
Golovkin talked about retirement days before his third fight with Alvarez. After losing to Alvarez, walking away would have been fine.
Not surprisingly, Golovkin had no interest in talking about quitting anymore.
“Remember guys,” Golovkin said. “I still have three belts at 160. I’ll come back, guys. I’m still champion, guys.”
After admitting Alvarez won the third after the bout, his words changed.
“I don’t feel that I lost the fight,” said a translator. “I don’t think about the loss. It’s not something that like is on my mind right now because it was a great fight, and it was a very clean fight, as you noticed. And we did not allow any mistakes. And the fight was very competitive. And especially in the second half, I felt I was better than my opponent.”
No, and secondly, the third fight with Alvarez was NOT great. Not even good.
The bout was reminiscent of the third bout between Sugar Ray Leonard and Duran.
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