Canelo Álvarez vs Gennady Golovkin Fight Preview: Golovkin Still the Favorite to Win Against Álvarez
Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez will have to get used to the fact that he will enter his next fight as an underdog. That doesn't happen very often. In fact, the last time he was considered an underdog was in his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013.
But the man he's facing on Sept. 16 is no ordinary boxer. Gennady "GGG" Golovkin has steamrolled his way through the division to become the most feared middleweight in the world, and he's expected to defeat Álvarez.
The Kazakhstani will have the size and reach advantage against Álvarez, and a lot of observers think he's going to look to dictate the pace when they meet.
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"Golovkin is going to be pushing a fast pace, and looking to force Canelo to fight as hard as possible for the full 12 rounds. The extra weight that Canelo has put on is likely going to slow him down, make him require more rest breaks, and keep him from maneuvering around the ring the way that Golovkin's last 2 opponents Danny Jacobs and Kell Brook were able to do," Sean Jones said in his column for Boxing News 24.
That's a very good observation. Álvarez has been known to slow down the pace of a fight to suit himself, and he will have to find a way to make Golovkin fight at his pace instead of the other way around. Otherwise, he's going to be in a lot of trouble.
While Golovkin will enter the fight as the favorite, he still has a lot to prove because he has never faced an opponent has highly regarded as Álvarez.
On the other hand, Álvarez has already fought against top caliber opponents like Mayweather, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan and Julio César Chávez Jr.
Álvarez is definitely going to be the toughest opponent Golovkin has ever face in his career. However, the Mexican has never faced someone with Golovkin's punching power and one has to wonder if he can take those punches.
