By: Sean Crose
Lance Pugmire of the Athletic is reporting that Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin are agreeing to meet for a third time. The fight will hopefully take place this coming September, provided Canelo can get past Billy Joe Saunders, who he’s still supposed to face in spite of the recent turmoil caused by the Corona Virus pandemic. Canelo was last seen winning a version of the light heavyweight title after stopping Sergey Kovalev late in a tough fight. Golovkin was last spotted in the ring grinding out a grueling win against Sergey Derevyanchenko. Agreeing to a third fight is clearly the most lucrative and fan friendly decision each man can make at this point in their respective careers.
Golovkin was long the most avoided man in boxing. A highly skilled stalker, the Kazakh was as patient in the ring as he was lethal. He was, in a sense, a larger version of Julio Caesar Chavez, another fighter who would calmly break down his prey. Canelo, on the other hand, had gone from “Floyd Mayweather Opponent” to being the most popular athlete in boxing. What’s more, the man’s skills seemed to sharpen parallel to his rise to the top of the sport. By the time the two fighters met for middleweight supremacy in 2017, theirs was the biggest bout the sport of boxing could make that didn’t include Mayweather.
The fight lived up to the hype. Although there was no stoppage or knockdowns, each man went to war, providing viewers with a high octane affair. The final decision of the judges, however, proved to be highly controversial. Although most felt Golovkin had clearly done enough to win, the match was ruled a draw. Things became even more intense when Canelo tested positive for a banned substance in the lead up to the highly anticipated rematch. Canelo’s team blamed it on tainted beef. Others weren’t having it. Still, Canelo went on to win a razor close second fight with the man who had by then become his arch nemesis.
Even though there were those who felt Golovkin might not ever get the judge’s nod against Canelo – who judges have long had a love affair with – people still called for a third fight. Canelo argued he didn’t want one…apparently, until now. Should Canelo-Golovkin 3 transpire, it will undoubtedly air live on the DAZN streaming service, which now airs both men’s fights.
