By Dan Ambrose: Willie Monroe Jr. (19-2, 6 KOs) still believes that WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) is too fast and too strong for the 33-year-old IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady GGG Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs). Monroe Jr. has been singing the praises for the 25-year-old Canelo ever since Golovkin knocked him out in the 6th round earlier this year in May 2015 in a fight in which Golovkin dropped Monroe three times before the fight was halted.
Monroe feels that he had success at times with Golovkin, when the two of them were fighting in close on the inside. Monroe was able to land an occasional shot. However, it also looked like Golovkin was taking it easy on Monroe and not hitting him with full force like he had in the 2nd round of the fight, a round in which he knocked Monroe down twice.
Golovkin admitted after the fight that he had carried Monroe after the 2nd round because he wanted to get rounds in. Monroe Jr. does not seem to believe that.
“I think Canelo is too strong, too fast and too sharp on the inside,” Monroe said to Fighthype. “I think Canelo has great defensive skills. If I had to put my money, I’d put my money on Canelo. I have nothing against Triple G, but they say styles make fights. I think someone like Canelo has the style to beat him. If you saw the work I did on the inside with Triple G, and I’m not even considered an inside fighter. The only person I can see beating Triple G right now is Canelo, especially at middleweight. Triple G is a force to be reckoned with. I’ve been in the ring with him. I know,” Monroe said.
I guess Golovkin should be shaking in his boots right now from Monroe’s praise of Canelo’s skills, but I do not think he is. Golovkin sees what many boxing fans see when they look at Canelo; a fighter with stamina problems who can be out-boxed from the outside. The smaller 5’7”, 160lb Miguel Cotto almost beat Canelo in their fight last month, and he did not have nearly the same jab, power or outside boxing ability, that Golovkin possesses.
You have to wonder whether Monroe has come to terms with his loss to Golovkin and let it go. I have a feeling that Monroe might not be okay with being beaten by Golovkin, and is looking to diminish his skills. I do not think it will help Monroe any if Canelo were able to beat Golovkin, because Monroe would still have to live with his loss to Golovkin. In other words, Canelo cannot be a proxy for him.
I think Canelo is going to have many problems trying to get the better of Golovkin because Canelo’s main attribute, his size, will not be enough for him to crush Golovkin like he’s done with the smaller or less skilled fighters that he’s been fighting. I think Golovkin has the better punching power than Canelo.
If the two of them stand in the pocket and trade, I see Golovkin getting the better of Canelo every time. I don’t believe that Golovkin will take it easy on Canelo to carry him rounds. I think he’ll look to take him out fast.
I rate David Lemieux’s punching power as better than Canelo’s. Lemieux has better one-punch power with equal size. If Lemieux couldn’t land his shots against Golovkin, then I certainly don’t see Canelo landing.
“Triple G has great punch placement,” Monroe said. “You can have a lot of power, but if you don’t hit the guy in the right spot, then he can take a punch. You can have minimal power and hit the guy in the right spot and really hurt him. It doesn’t help that he [Golovkin] has a lot of power. Triple G has great power and he has great punch placement. When he hits you, he physically hurts you. He has a great hook to the body. He kept hitting me on the hips, and on the butt. So by the third round, I couldn’t feel my right leg. He knew I was mobile and he wanted to take that mobility away from me,” Monroe said.
Canelo will be fighting on May 7th in a voluntary defense in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the names that is being mentioned as a possible opponent is David Lemieux, the fighter that Golovkin stopped last October in the 8th round.
What are the top 3 fights you'd like to see in 2016? I can think of a couple #GGGvsCanelo #GGGvsSaunders
— Gennady Golovkin (@GGGBoxing) December 22, 2015
Golovkin will be fighting in the first quarter of 2016, possibly against his IBF mandatory Tureano Johnson.
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