Canelo Alvarez, GGG make grand arrivals, renew rivalry
Mariachi music filled the lobby inside the MGM Grand again Tuesday afternoon — along with the type of tension that trilogies tend to yield.
But while the trumpets buzzed and the violin strings vibrated and the hundreds of gatherers erupted in celebration, Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin stared at each other in silence.
Separated by an inch or two, numb to the cacophony of chaos they created and ready to settle the score.
Sans the scorecards.
“That’s my goal for this fight … If a knockout comes, then OK,” said Alvarez, boxing’s undisputed super middleweight champion. “If not, I’m prepared for 12 rounds.”
They’ve already shared 24 rounds in the boxing ring, but Alvarez and Golovkin made their grand arrivals in Las Vegas — preparing to share 12 more Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. The 32-year-old Mexican and 40-year-old Kazakh remain bitter rivals, first fighting Sept. 16, 2017, and again Sept. 15, 2018, in two of the most memorable title fights in middleweight history.
Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 knockouts) won the rematch by majority decision after a controversial split draw marred their first meeting.
“I know I won both fights,” said Alvarez, a champion in four divisions. “Close fights, but that’s good for boxing.”
The third fight will be at super middleweight, Alvarez’s weight class of choice and the one he conquered last year with victories over former titlists Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant. He departed from the 168-pound division in May, losing a unanimous decision to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol at T-Mobile Arena.
The loss disrupted a 16-fight unbeaten streak dating to Sept. 14, 2013, when he lost to Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden.
“Nobody likes to lose, right? But it is what it is. It’s boxing,” Alvarez said. “Keep forward and training hard. And that’s it. Next move.”
Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) hasn’t lost since the Alvarez fight. He’s won his past four fights, unifying the IBF and WBA middleweight titles April 9 by knocking out Ryota Murota in Japan.
The Alvarez fight will be Golovkin’s super middleweight debut.
“I feel more energy and at the same time I feel more relaxed, probably because of my experience,” Golovkin said through an interpreter. “I’m calm. I understand what kind of fight it’s going to be. It’s a difficult fight, it’s a tough opponent, and at the same time, my nervous system tells me everything is good.”
Alvarez insists he’s in his prime, while Golovkin is undoubtedly past his and nearing the end of his career.
But he remains one of the sport’s most powerful punchers and is eager to right what he believes were two wrongful rulings against Alvarez.
“I think that every fighter treats each fight separate,” Golovkin said. “Of course, you draw conclusions based on the previous fights. You make some mistakes, you try to correct them in the next fight, and I anticipate he’s going to make less mistakes in our fight. I know what kind of fight we are facing right now. … We are absolutely ready for this fight.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.