By Sean Jones: Promoter Tom Loeffler reports that Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin will be returning to action this December against a still to be determined opponent. He says a trilogy match against Canelo Alvarez is possible in 2022.
I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for Canelo to fight Golovkin ever again if I were Loeffler. Canelo has gotten used to the soft life, beating the weak super middleweight champions Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, and Rocky Fielding.
He’s about to finish the job against Caleb Plant on November 6th, and it’s not likely that Canelo will look in Golovkin’s direction after that.
Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) hasn’t fought since last December when he successfully defended his IBF middleweight title with a seventh round knockout over mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta.
Since that fight, there’s been talk from Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn that Golovkin, 39, will be facing WBA 160-lb champion Ryota Murata in a unification fight in December.
That’s a match that could be taking place in Murata’s home country of Japan, and the fight will get a lot of attention over there.
U.S boxing fans aren’t excited at the thought of seeing Golovkin fight Murata, as the Japanese fighter has already been beaten twice as a pro by Rob Brant and Hassan N’Dam. Those fights showed Murata’s limitations as a fighter, loud and clear.
American fans want to see GGG fight Canelo, Demetrius Andrade, Jermall Charlo and David Benavidez. Any one of those four fighters would be vastly preferable to watching Golovkin beat up the limited 35-year-old paper champion Murata.
Golovkin to fight in December
“He’s here in LA. He’s looking to come back towards the end of the year,” said promoter Tom Loeffler to K.O Artists Sports about Gennadiy Golovkin.
“Nothing is finalized yet, but he’s looking to come back towards the end of the year. Every time he gets inside the ring, it’s fireworks, so we’re excited that he’s finally narrowing down the timeframe,” Loeffler said.
If Golovkin can make easy work of Murata, he could return to the ring in early 2022 to get back to work fighting the quality guys like Charlo, Andrade, or Benavidez.
Murata hasn’t fought in two years since 2019, and that’s little more than a business-level fight for Golovkin with the money he can make in Japan.
Golovkin vs. Murata won’t bring in many new subscribers to DAZN because casual boxing fans have never heard of the Japanese fighter.
Moreover, Murata isn’t rated highly by hardcore fans, and NO one is demanding that Golovkin fight him. Murata is a very basic fighter who lacks the talent to beat any good warriors at 160.
It’s too bad Golovkin is wasting a perfectly good fight on Murata in December because he could use that time to face Demetrius Andrade, Jermall Charlo, or David Benavidez.
Even Chris Eubank Jr. would be much preferable as an opponent for Golovkin than Murata.
Canelo vs. GGG III is possible in 2022
“He [Golovkin] was supposed to fight Canelo when they were with DAZN, but that didn’t happen in September 2019,” said Loeffler.
“After that, he took a few other fights. Now, if he comes back in December, it should be a nice fight that we’ll be able to announce.
“It was so hard to make those first two Canelo fights. If you remember, Canelo still holds the record as the only champion from Mexico to ever to vacate the WBC title.
“So when the WBC mandated for Canelo to fight GGG, he decided it wasn’t time for him yet.
“He wasn’t ready for GGG. So after that, when he wasn’t mandated to fight him, it was really hard to put that deal together.
“We managed to figure out a way to make it work because HBO knew on pay-per-view that would be Canelo’s biggest payday against GGG.
“We had the third-highest gate in Nevada history. Actually, in boxing history with the GGG and Canelo 1, and did over one million pay-per-view buys in both of those fights.
“If you ask why that third fight [with Canelo] hasn’t happened, it’s not because of GGG’s side.
“There was a small timeframe where it looked like the Caleb Plant fight wasn’t going to happen, and maybe we could do that third fight, but it wasn’t a realistic timeframe.
“We knew they were putting it out there. As I said, it was such a difficult negotiation for the first two fights.
“Hopefully, the third fight will happen next year,” said Loeffler about the Canelo vs. Golovkin trilogy match.
It would be very surprising if Canelo chooses to fight Golovkin in 2022 or ever again, for that matter.
Many boxing fans believe that Canelo is still harboring a grudge against Golovkin due to his remarks after discovering the Mexican star had tested positive for the banned PED clenbuterol.
Also, those two fights for Canelo against Golovkin were very tough for the Mexican star, and he arguably lost the first one and was lucky to win in the second one. If you score that fight, it’s pretty clear Golovkin won six rounds to earn a draw.
Canelo was given a questionable 12 round decision win, but it looked like a clear draw because he gassed out badly in the second half, giving away almost every round.
Golovkin is too dangerous for Canelo, and he’ll likely continue to swerve the third fight with him.
It’s easier for Canelo to go after the soft targets in taking the titles from the paper champions at 168, which he’s devoted the last three years of his career doing.
Canelo telling the boxing fans that his goal is to become the undisputed 168-lb champion has given him cover to duck the dangerous fighters that fans want to see him fight.
Golovkin, David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo, Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterbiev, and Demetrius Andrade. If Canelo weren’t fighting the paper champions at 168, he would have been expected to fight those guys, and he likely would have already lost to half if not all of them.
Canelo is a good fighter, but he’s tiny, and he has a terrible work rate. He can’t throw more than a handful of shots each round without gassing out.
That’s why Canelo only throws a few shots each round because he knows if he lets his hands, he’ll fade and won’t be able to get his second wind. When Canelo gasses out, he stays gassed out for the remainder of his fights.
