By Harry Hogg: After long drawn-out negotiations, Golden Boy Promotions along with Tom Loeffler finally announced the much-anticipated rematch between Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin on Monday, scheduled for May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), with the venue yet to be revealed.
The two middleweight superstars fought a highly controversial draw in Las Vegas back in September, a night overshadowed by the absurd 118-110 scorecard in favor of Canelo from Judge Adelaide Byrd. The other two judges, Dave Moretti and Don Trella, scored 115-113 in favor of Golovkin and a 114-114 draw respectively.
Eight months on, a date has finally been set for the rematch, and the two pound for pound stars will do it all again in what promises to be the biggest fight of 2018.
But what can we expect the second time around?
One thing is for sure, Canelo (49-1-2, 34 KOs) must make adjustments.
The 27-year-old was pushed back and outworked in the first fight. And at times, seemed to be drained and unable to put together combinations regularly enough to stop Golovkin’s (37-0-1, 33 KOs) momentum coming forward. Too often Canelo found himself backed up against the ropes and relying on his counter-punching style to pick Golovkin off. But he wasn’t doing enough to impose himself on the Kazakh and never looked in control of the fight. And it wasn’t until the later rounds as a result of a stern pep talk from trainer Chepo Reynoso, that Canelo began to come out of his shell and let his hands go. In turn, this got Canelo out of jail, as reflected on the scorecards, where all three judges awarded the Mexican the last few rounds.
If Canelo can apply the pressure he imposed down the stretch that night from the opening bell on May 5th, he beats Triple G. You only have to look at the problems Daniel Jacobs caused Golovkin back in March of last year. Being brave and taking the fight to Golovkin is something Canelo must do more of in the rematch. ‘Triple G’ struggles on the back foot, Canelo can take advantage of that.
Especially when you consider the punishment Canelo took in September, he stood up strong to Golovkin’s relentless barrage of attacks and didn’t seem at any point hurt by what was coming his way. He took Triple G’s best shots and remained standing.
By the time May 5th comes around, Golovkin will be 36.
Turning a year older is not the only problem facing Golovkin second time around in May. As mentioned earlier Canelo needs to make adjustments, but they are adjustments that the Mexican is more than capable of making.
Golovkin, on the other hand, cannot change, he knows only one way to fight and that is to march forward with no real concern of what is coming back. It’s difficult to see him doing anything different, add to the fact that this fight is on Cinco de Mayo weekend in front of what will be a partisan Canelo crowd.
But you have to wonder just how much the first fight took out of Golovkin, the undefeated star looked dejected when the scorecards were read, unjust perhaps, but maybe more so was the fact that he could not have put any more into the 12 rounds and yet still left Vegas without the victory.
Ever since the Brook fight back in 2016, there has been talk of a decline in Golovkin, and we have begun to see the signs ever since that night in London.
Going back to the scorecards from September, the last few rounds were scored in favour of Canelo and correctly so. Yes, Canelo put his foot down in a desperate attempt to save the fight, but also it perhaps showed a weakness in Golovkin. Go back five months earlier to the Jacobs fight, the same pattern emerges, Golovkin loses the last three rounds on the cards bar one (Don Trella giving GGG the 12th). Coming up to his 36th birthday, the signs are there that Golovkin’s ruthless intensity that led him to 23 consecutive KO’s going into that Jacobs fight, is beginning to fade.
Ultimately on May 5th, a lot will depend on Canelo making the adjustments needed, but it’s difficult to see past another closely contested and hard-fought affair in the rematch. But Canelo surely holds a big advantage having experienced and come through the power of Golovkin, who now seems to be on that slippery slope of decline.
Whatever happens, this has not just got the makings of an enthralling rematch, but the second entry into an enticing modern day boxing trilogy.
Twitter: @HazHogg