Golovkin vs Alvarez: The Fight Boxing Deserves

Conor McGregor/Floyd Mayweather is finally gone. Did it live up to the hype? Well, only you can answer that question. Mayweather won the bout, and if you expected anything different, then you probably only have disappointing memories about the event.

On the other hand, if you couldn’t wait to see McGregor embarrass himself because you didn’t think he stood a chance against Mayweather, the fight more than likely satisfied you. Everyone agrees that McGregor actually fought well. He didn’t stand a chance against his opponent. But he wasn’t the clueless flailing loser that everyone expected.

The Canelo vs GGG fight odds are unlikely to stack up to what the Mayweather/McGregor bout attracted. But the Canelo/GGG fight promises to be a far more impressive showing.

Sure, nothing will beat the hype that surrounded the Mayweather/McGregor match, at least not anytime soon. And nothing should. That fight was a spectacle. McGregor and Mayweather are athletes operating on opposite ends of the sports spectrum. To see them fight was odd and unexpected and strangely alluring.

But it is finally time to bring things back down to earth. Canelo VS GGG is a real boxing match, the kind for which the predictions are not so obvious. The Mayweather bout was merely the preliminary.

It set the stage for what promises to be a far more impressive battle on Saturday. Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez are some of the best fighters in the world. The boxing arena needs that sort of talent in the ring in order to keep the sport alive.

Alvarez fought Mayweather two years ago and lost. That is nothing to be ashamed about. Mayweather was practically invincible at the time, a physical specimen in his prime. It might be argued that Alvarez didn’t really stand a chance.

But the 34 knockouts on Alvarez’s resume justify the hype surrounding his abilities in the ring.

At 35-years of age, Golovkin is eight years Alvarez’s senior. Nearly 90 percent of all the opponents unfortunate enough to take him on have been knocked out. It would be fascinating if Golovkin had gotten his chance to fight Mayweather because that would make it easier to predict the outcome of his match against Alvarez.

For now, even with his many victories, it still isn’t clear just what Golovkin can do when he is fully unleashed. For that reason, his fight against Alvarez could have any number of outcomes.

Golovkin will face Alvarez in a middleweight showdown in Las Vegas over the weekend. He has described his fight as the historical counterpart to the money fight from last month.

Golovkin agrees with the idea that his fight against Alvarez is important because it reminds everyone what boxing is about. The sport has a place for spectacle. But at its core, boxing is about skill and endurance in the ring.

Golovkin will put his titles (WBC, WBA, IBF) on the line when he faces Alvarez. Golovkin wants the victory. He has been waiting to take on an opponent like Alvarez for years. And one assumes that a victory over Golovkin will do wonders for Alvarez’s reputation.