Golovkin vs. Canelo II: Will it be fake Mexican Style again?

By Boxing News - 08/31/2018 - Comments

Image: Golovkin vs. Canelo II: Will it be fake Mexican Style again?

By Gerardo Granados: On September 15th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a genuine Mexican Style fight will take place but there is a big chance that it won’t take place between the big name boxers heading the event, but instead by the undercard fight between super welter WBO belt holder Jaime Munguia and Brandon Cook. It is fair to say that the David Lemieux vs. Gary O´Sullivan could as well keep the fight fans on the edge of their seats.

This time there is beef between GGG and Canelo camps and hopefully it will be Clenbuterol free. It seems that Alvarez doesn’t like anyone who speaks against him as he has got angry with previous opponents and people who made comments he don’t like. Just like trainer Abel Sanchez who has traded verbal attacks with Canelo and vice versa; even Gennady who has a really calm outside the ring personality has rant against Canelo as a fake. But in reality the trash talk between camps has been average at best without big drama show. Long gone are the glory days of the real trash talkers and the genuine bad blood.

The buildup for the first fight was like a garbage soap opera or a crappy reality show. The way Alvarez avoided the fight and despised the WBC title, the ingenuity showed by GGG who first allowed Miguel Cotto to fight Canelo waiting to get the winner; then Canelo asking Golovkin to let him get ready by taking welter Amir Khan, to finally vacating the belt avoiding a still prime Golovkin.

It all lead up in big disappointment when the official score cards announced a draw. The 114-114 score was not correct but the 118-110 card for Canelo was ludicrous; it was even a suspicious card if you ask me.

For what the boxing fans often can see posted at major sport media outlets it seems that this time we will see a genuine Mexican Style fight inside the ring; but didn’t last time we also had all the ingredients for it to take place?

The Mexican Style, the one that sell out arenas based on heart, lots of heart, the skills, hunger and determination. The Mexican Style portrayed in the epic battles fought between Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, Orlando Salido vs. Francisco Vargas and Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez is the real Mexican Style. Not the fake Mexican Style that fails to deliver the thrills to the audience just as the first fight between Golovkin and Alvarez.

In the first fight I had Golovkin winning 116-112, but still I saw things I didn’t like in Gennady´s performance such as when Golovkin hesitated and refused to attack Canelo when Saul rested on the ropes. Yes, of course GGG was being cautious avoiding falling into a trap but he never get inside or even tried to go to the body. Canelo surprised me a lot as he prepared and executed a very calculated game plan, it is true that he didn’t win the fight but I must admit that thru the fight he displayed very good defensive moves.

Neither GGG nor Canelo resembles true Mexican Warriors of the past as they don’t fully commit to the attack, they don’t sacrifice much and on times refuse to take any unnecessary risks. Can’t say if they will commit for war for 12 rounds, because in the first one they didn’t show anything that makes me suspect that this time around they will. If you ask me, I would say that this rematch will be more like a Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez or the Pernell Whitaker vs Julio Cesar Chavez type of fight.

Hades knows that I wish to be totally wrong but I simply cannot see this rematch as a potential fight of the year nominee, because the boxers involved don’t convince me to be willing to please the crowd and to engage in an epic battle for the ages.

At 36 years of age GGG already slowed down, he isn’t the same he was 3-4 years ago. It was noticeably evident at the Vanes Martirosyan fight. In this fight, we could witness how Golovkin lost a tad of speed and how his reflexes diminished. Vanes was able to easily land clean with speed combinations! That’s not a good sign when Martirosyan isn’t the man to beat at 154 pounds and also is moving up and coming from a two years layoff after losing his last fight.

In the first fight, once Canelo timed GGG big right then he moved out of the way leaving GGG hitting air. GGG has become too predictable, he has developed negative tendencies both on his offense and defense, which I think trainer Chepo Reynoso was able to notice at the first fight and for the second Chepo will bring an improved game plan. So it is up to trainer Abel Sanchez to make the necessary adjustments on his pupil.

Lately trainer Sanchez has failed to mimic Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. fighting style that early on GGG practiced, now GGG fights too frontal, isn’t cutting off the ring as he used to do, walking in his last 3-4 fights in straight lines, he not only has lost speed and reflexes but even worst now lacks head upper body movement, and most of the time fights at mid-long range which makes him tailor made for Canelo counter punching ability.

I think that in the rematch Golovkin must make it a dog fight and jump early on Canelo who in this camp looks lighter and not like a bull as he looked a year ago. Gennady better forget to try to outbox a younger lion, he must get inside and make it dirty if needed to slow down his younger prime foe and most of all GGG must use his jab more and better go to the body early on the fight. And for the love of war prove to the Mexican fan base that he means it when he claims to fight Mexican Style and that he doesn’t do it just to sell tickets.

In a few words I think that Canelo will try to mimic what Floyd Mayweather did to him in his rematch against Golovkin.

Truth is the so called Mexican Style is a brand Mexican fighter’s get only once they prove to be ring warriors. Of course it is not exclusive for Mexican fighters as worldwide there are brave sons of boxing who have a heart bigger than their chest and the hunger and killer instinct to achieve the Boxing Valhalla.

I think that this anticipated rematch is past due and could end up in a calculated technical boxing chess match. Yes, in parts of the fight we could see exchanges but it will not be the war many fans are expecting. I doubt that GGG or Golovkin will fully commit to practice Mexican Style and will play it safe first. So this will be a fake Mexican Style rematch. But what about the reader do you agree?