By Sean Jones: Gennadiy Golovkin says he’s tired of seeing Canelo Alvarez fighting “carbon copy fighters” in Eddie Hearn’s stable with him knocking off the promoter’s British 168-lb champions one after another.
Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) wonders where Canelo’s sense of obligation and conscience is at with him facing lesser opposition in a pattern of match-making that has seen the Mexican star face exclusively less than the best for the last three years of his career since 2018.
Golovkin tired of seeing Canelo in mismatches
“I am a little tired of this series of boxing, like carbon copy fighters. What Eddie Hearn is trying to do is present one of his fighters after another.
“It’s like a soap opera that we’re all tired of,” said Golovkin to LA Times Espanol on Canelo fighting Hearn’s 168-lb champions Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, and Callum Smith, who some boxing fans viewed as paper champions.
Sean Jones agrees with Golovkin 100% about Canelo fighting Hearn’s “carbon copy fighters” in presenting substandard fights to the boxing public.
It’s pathetic that Canelo has been allowed to get away with facing the dreadful fighters that Hearn has fed him at 168. Where’re Canelo’s scruples?
With the money that Canelo was getting from DAZN, he should have had a sense of obligation to give the streaming giant the fights that they – and the boxing public – wanted to see instead of the fodder that he’s exclusively been facing for the last three years.
It’s unclear how Canelo can live with himself facing the lackluster opposition he’d been dining on since his controversial 12 round majority decision over Golovkin in 2018.
If Sean Jones were in Canelo’s shoes, he wouldn’t have fought any of the guys he’d been facing in the last three years because they were too poor.
While the British public might have been overjoyed at seeing Canelo fight their fighters Saunders, Fielding, and Smith, the U.S fans weren’t pleased with these sick mismatches.
Canelo has failed to give fans fights they want
Americans wanted Canelo to fight quality opposition rather than British domestic-level fighters. The Americans want to see Canelo take some risks to prove that he belongs as the #1 fighter in boxing by running the gauntlet against these talents:
- David Benavidez
- Gennadiy Golovkin – in a neutral venue not in Nevada
- Jermall Charlo
- Artur Beterbiev
- Dmitry Bivol
- Demetrius Andrade
- Joe Smith Jr.
Even if Canelo spent the last three years fighting Benavidez or Golovkin exclusively, it would have been far more preferable than the terrible mismatches we’ve been from him against Fielding, Callum, Saunders & Plant.
For Canelo to become the undisputed super middleweight champion recently, he was fed THREE of Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing fighters:
- Rocky Fielding – WBA 168
- Callum Smith – WBA & vacant WBC
- Billy Joe Saunders – WBO
Those fighters were viewed as weak paper champions in the eyes of many boxing fans. However, Canelo still happily fought them rather than taking risks by facing David Benavidez, Golovkin, Demetrius Andrade, or Jermall Charlo.
The only 168-lb champion NOT in Hearn’s stable was Caleb Plant, who couldn’t punch and was unproven.
Again, Plant was another paper champion, a guy that struggled to beat IBF super middleweight champion Jose Uzcategui to capture his title in 2019.
After winning the IBF belt, Plant milked the strap by fighting these lackluster contenders: Mike Lee, Vincent Feigenbutz, and 38-year-old Caleb Truax.
GGG doesn’t see Canelo as the #1 fighter in boxing
“It depends what we take as the criteria. After my fights with him, I don’t consider him the best,” said Golovkin when asked if he views Canelo as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in boxing.
“It is time to face reality. Have some conscience to end this. There are other more interesting opportunities, ”said Golovkin.
Many boxing fans would likely agree with Golovkin about Canelo needing to have a conscience to stop his cherry-picking and start facing quality fighters, even if it means that he begins losing.
In a perfect example of Canelo choosing to face weak opposition, he’s planning on moving up to cruiserweight to challenge WBC champion Ilunga Makabu next.
While the casual boxing fans think it’s a great show of courage by Alvarez to challenge Makabu, the people that know the sport view this as another mismatch.
For Canelo, it’s a continuation of the same type of careful selection of flawed fighters he’s been doing since his controversial win over GGG in 2018.
IBF middleweight champion Golovkin will be facing WBA champion Ryota Murata next month on December 29th in a unification fight at 160 in Saitama, Japan.