On Saturday, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovokin will meet for the third time in one of boxing’s most anticipated trilogy fights. A year after their first meeting in September 2017, which ended in a contentious split decision draw, Alvarez defeated his opponent by majority decision in the rematch.
Both times, there was widespread agreement that GGG performed admirably enough to win, and both times, media and public interest in the fight was at an all-time high. The two will now square off for the third and likely final time in front of a sold-out audience at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as GGG seeks to end the feud once and for all.
Let’s take a closer look at how this one could go.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin (57-2-2, 39 KOs) (42-1-1, 37 KOs)
Few expect GGG to pull off a win of this magnitude at this point in his career, and most sports fans see it as a one-time bonus. Following his loss to Canelo in 2018, GGG has won four straight fights, winning the IBF and IBO middleweight titles along the way, albeit against much less-known opponents.
When we last saw him in the ring, he had just won his second straight fight inside the distance, retaining both of the aforementioned belts while also claiming the WBA (Super) middleweight title. GGG will try to cement his legacy once more against the greatest middleweight to ever lace them, with his most recent fight in April 2022 serving as a warm-up.
Canelo will enter the ring on Saturday in a situation that the 32-year-old fighter has never experienced: defeat. Canelo’s last fight was a unanimous decision loss to Dmitry Bivol, which he lost after moving up to light heavyweight for.
Canelo’s last (and only) defeat came in a majority decision against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September of 2013. With a 14-1-0 record since then, his only loss was a draw against GGG, which he will undoubtedly seek to avenge in this fight to retain his WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring super middleweight belts.
In conclusion
While neither of these fighters is the same as in previous fights, they are still at the top of the sport and, unfortunately, some of the best boxing has to offer at this weight class right now. I don’t expect anything different here after the last two fights were almost too close to call.
Choose: Fight to Decision – Yes (-150)