There’s more than just Gennady Golovkin’s middleweight titles on the line as he takes on Canelo Alvarez in their rematch Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
We’re just days away from one of the most anticipated rematches in years as WBC, WBA and IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) takes on Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It’s been a wild road to get to this rematch.
Their first match last September ended in a highly disputed draw. Shortly thereafter negotiations began to have their rematch on May 5 to settle the score. But the fight was canceled after Alvarez two failed drug test for the performance-enhancing drug clenbuterol and Alvarez was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for six months.
Golovkin instead fought Vanes Martirosyan on May 5 and knocked him out in two rounds.
Watch a recap of the final @Canelo vs. @GGGBoxing 2 press conference before the mega-rematch this Saturday at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on HBO PPV. pic.twitter.com/0csnMc41IB
— HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) September 13, 2018
But after all of that, Canelo vs GGG II fight week is here and we’ll finally get to see who is the best middleweight in the world.
There’s more than just Golovkin’s middleweight titles at stake on Saturday night as this will be a legacy-defining fight for the winner.
For Golovkin he has a chance at history as if he’s able to win he’ll break his tie with Bernard Hopkins of 20 consecutive middleweight world title defenses.
Some question Golovkin’s resume as he doesn’t have a victory over a fighter that’s bound for the Hall of Fame. The best and most notable wins on his resume have come against Daniel Jacobs in what was a highly competitive fight, David Lemieux and Kell Brook who jumped up two weight classes to challenge Golovkin.
Jacobs, Lemieux and Brook are all excellent fighters, but neither is a superstar fighter where a win over them can elevate a fighter to be considered an all-time great.
But should the 36-year-old Golovkin decisively defeat the 28-year-old Alvarez who is boxing’s biggest star, then even Golovkin’s biggest detractors will have to give him credit and then we can begin to rank Golovkin amongst the greatest middleweights of all-time.
But should Golovkin lose, many will say that he was a very good but not great middleweight champion that never defeated a fighter on the same caliber as him.
This fight is also a legacy fight for Alvarez as he has been under heavy scrutiny following his two failed drug test. Alvarez and his team have stated numerous times that the failed drug test was due to tainted meat.
But many were skeptical and believe Alvarez was using clenbuterol to prepare for the toughest fight of his career and may have used it in preparation for other fights.
Alvarez has already compiled a Hall of Fame resume with wins over Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Erislandy Lara and Amir Khan. But a win over Golovkin would be the biggest win of his career, and since he’s been randomly tested by VADA for yearlong testing this would erase doubts that he’s a dirty fighter.
However, if he should lose, the legitimacy of Alvarez’s career would come into question even further.
Both fighters are looking to settle the score once and for all on who is the better man and walk away as the unified middleweight champion. But the winner would have also enhanced their legacy and put a dent in the other’s legacy.
The fight will be broadcast live Saturday night on HBO PPV 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.
