By Jim Calfa: Canelo Alvarez waited until Gennady Golovkin got old before choosing to fight him for the long-awaited trilogy match says trainer Joel Diaz.
According to Diaz, Canelo-Golovkin III is a strictly business-level fight without any sporting value because Canelo is in his prime at 31, and Golovkin is well past it at 40.
In fairness to Canelo, he’s taking the third fight with Golovkin because DAZN and the boxing public want to see it. If not for that, he probably wouldn’t be fighting him again.
During the recent fighter’s meeting, Canelo explained why he’s fighting the 40-year-old Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) now. It’s a fight that DAZN wanted as part of the contract, so he agreed to it.
Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) will be facing Golovkin in the third fight on September 17th if the two win their preliminary matches in April and May, but it’s pointless for them to face each other now given the age gap.
The last time Canelo fought Golovkin in 2018, he beat him by a 12 round majority decision using pressure. Although Canelo gassed out after six rounds and was outboxed in the last six rounds, it was obvious that he had landed the more significant blows during the contender.
Ideally, the time for Canelo to have fought Golovkin a third time would have been in late 2018 or 2019.
Waiting until 2022 to fight Golovkin is too late. In the four years since they last fought, GGG has competed just three times, fighting non-elite level opposition in what appeared to be tune-up fights.
It’s believed that Golovkin has merely been waiting for the trilogy match with Canelo all these years, and didn’t want to jeopardize it happening by taking on a difficult opponent like Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade, or David Benavidez.
Diaz says Canelo waited for Golovkin to get old
“For me, no. For us the people that live boxing, no,” said Joel Diaz to Fight Hub TV when asked if he wants to see the trilogy match between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.
“Why not? We’ve already seen the first one and the second one. If you ask me personally what I think, and you want to hear it without filters, what for? It’s been four years already. They waited for him to get old. What for?” said Diaz.
It’s clear that Canelo was done with his rivalry with Golovkin after their second fight, and wanted nothing to do with fighting him again.
All you need to do is see the guys that Canelo has chosen in the last four years to understand that he had no intention of ever fighting GGG again.
Canelo’s opposition since 2018:
- Rocky Fielding
- Avni Yildirim
- Daniel Jacobs
- Billy Joe Saunders
- Callum Smith
- Caleb Plant
- Sergey Kovalev
“The only thing that’s going to happen is Canelo is going to go over there and put a beating on Golovkin,” said Diaz. “He’s 40-years-old already. They should have done it earlier, maybe one year after the last one [in 2018], not four or five years later.
“They created a monster in Canelo, and they let Golovkin get old. When Golovkin fought [Sergiy] Derevyanchenko in New York, I was there. I honestly thought he lost. If you ask me, I’ll tell you straight up. I thought he lost. I thought GGG lost that fight.
“He is but where’s he at?” said Diaz when told that Derevyanchenko is a good fighter. He’s not at Canelo level. GGG and Canelo are at another level. To fight Derevyanchenko, who is good but he’s not at that level and you’re a close fight with one point [separating them], that says a lot,” said Diaz.
Canelo looking past Bivol
“GGG is still strong, but 40 is 40,” said Diaz. “At the age of 40, a lot of wear & tear. It takes a lot out of you. I don’t see it, but for some people, it’s a good fight. The first one was in doubt and the second one was in doubt.
“So now what they want to see is a final fight to make it final. What’s going to happen? Canelo is going to beat on him bad and that’s it. People will be happy. You wanted it, there it is.
“They don’t see that it’s been four years and GGG has aged. The average fan will be happy because Canelo will tear up GGG on his next one, and that’s what they want to see.
“They’ll say, ‘You had doubts about the first one and doubts about the second one, now there it is. That’s the way it goes.
“Leading into this fight, Bivol, and Canelo, they already have plans. If everything goes well with Canelo, they’re looking past Bivol to do a Gennady Golovkin [fight]. Of course, it’s business.
“They’ll do a third fight with GGG. Why not? After the last, it’s been years. Canelo has been active. Canelo is young and strong, he’s getting better. GGG has not had much activity, but he’s getting old,” said Diaz.
Canelo isn’t looking past Bivol. He has no choice but to schedule the Golovkin fight this year for September because it’s part of the three-fight deal with Matchroom and DAZN.
Even if Canelo didn’t schedule the fight with GGG in September, the fans would know the match would still be taking place in 2022.
Next year, Canelo is believed to be signing a lucrative $100 million+ deal with PBC for him to fight Jermall Charlo and David Benavidez.
Hardcore fans not excited about Canelo-Golovkin
“For us, the people that live boxing, whatever,” said Diaz about the perception that hardcore boxing fans have about the Canelo vs. Golovkin trilogy match
“For the people that don’t know boxing and are average fans, it’s great. Now they’re finally going to settle what happened in the first two.
“Business-wise, we know what’s going to happen. Canelo is going to tear up on GGG. Why? Because he’s too young. GGG is already 40-years-old. 40 is 40.
“If you didn’t have so much wear & tear in the sport. In boxing, after 30, you’re old. It’s like with the soldiers. They pick the soldiers when they’re young because they need the youth.
“The boxers when they start between the ages 18 and 30, there are some boxers that are really technical and they don’t really go into a lot of brawls. 32, 33, but after that, believe me, it’s downhill.
“There’s only a certain point for a boxer, but after that, you start to get old. I think fighters after 32, you’re already declined. When you’re 18 to 30, you’re already declined,” said Diaz.
