This weekend, Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin finally face off for Middleweight supremacy. Here’s what some of the sport’s brightest have to say about this weekend’s critical showdown.
Danny Howard (The Boxing Tribune):
It’s a mix of Canelo peaking at the right time and Golovkin starting to show wrinkles in his game that suggests some wear and tear, but shouldn’t matter much in what is an even fight on paper. I favor Canelo’s body punching and movement to Golovkin’s power to eke out a decision, but it isn’t out of the question that Golovkin runs the table and notches the biggest win of his career.
Cliff Rold (Boxingscene):
Golovkin KO: Perhaps there will be something surprising but this has never been a fight that seemed all that competitive. Alvarez is a good fighter but Golovkin is bigger, hits harder, and hasn’t been in the sort of wars that make for an old 35. His body attack will be unlike anything Alvarez has seen to date and his jab should control the younger man.
Adam Abramowitz (SaturdayNightBoxing.com):
I pick Golovkin by majority decision. I think Golovkin’s jab will be the key punch in the fight. His jab will help to control range and reduce Canelo’s output. I expect Canelo to have some have some very good moments in the fight with his eye-catching combinations, but there won’t be enough of them to win the decision.
David Berry (TheFightGuys):
Canelo is more of a complete fighter than Lemieux, but expect Golovkin to come out with a similar approach, jabbing patiently and only taking risks when necessary. Canelo will begin to solve the riddle after losing the early rounds, but Golovkin will be far enough ahead at that point to hold out any late rallies as the fight intensifies. Canelo may look the fresher fighter down the stretch, but Golovkin’s early work will have paid dividends, even stealing a couple of rounds down the stretch on the strength of his sheer brute power. Regardless of the final tallies, there will be no real losers.
Golovkin by UD, 115-112, with clamors for a rematch.
Brendan Taylor (Tru School Sports)
GGG vs Canelo Alvarez has the makings of a classic middleweight fight written all over it. The styles of both fighters I feel will mix well, but I believe it will be Golovkin who comes out on top in the end via TKO. Golovkin’s combination of natural middlweight size, boxing skills coupled with Canelo’s lack of true middleweight opposition will be the reasons why Golovkin wins. Canelo also seems to have put on lots of unatural muscle mass on recently, maybe I’m wrong but that’s what I see. All in all it will be interesting to see how Canelo handles the Golovkin pressure, but in the end the better fighter will win and his his name is Gennady Golovkin.
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