By Jack Tiernan: Gennadiy Golovkin says he’s not upset about failing to get the victories in his two fights with the Mexican star Canelo Alvarez in 2017 and 2018.
Contrary to the going perception that some boxing fans have about the entertaining Kazahstan star, Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) doesn’t harbor any bitterness in his mind about what transpired in his two fights against Canelo Alvarez.
The 2004 Olympic silver medalist Golovkin, who will be turning 40 on April 8th, is focused on his next opponent, WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata.
Golovkin and the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) are fighting on April 9th live on DAZN at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
It’s a must-win fight for Golovkin to get a trilogy match against Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) on September 17th. While Golovkin will probably say that he feels no pressure going into the unification fight against the 36-year-old Murata, he has to be concerned about the contest.
After all, there’s a lot of money on the line with the outcome of the Golovkin-Murata fight. If Golovkin loses, he won’t get the opportunity to fight Canelo for the trilogy.
Golovkin not bitter
The loss would effectively close the door to any possibility of the Kazakhstan star from fighting Alvarez a third time.
Canelo must also win his next fight against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7th for the third match against GGG in September.
“I don’t feel bothered by the results in the first two fights,” said IBF middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin to DAZN, reflecting on his two fights with superstar Canelo Alvarez.
Canelo vs. Golovkin fight 1
Most boxing fans believe that Golovkin deserved to have his hand raised in his first fight against Canelo on September 16, 2017, in Las Vegas.
That was a fight in which Golovkin controlled the action from the outside, jabbing the shorter-armed Canelo the entire battle while avoiding his attempts to land counter shots.
The Nevada State judges scored the fight as follows:
- 118-110 – Canelo
- 115-113 – Golovkin
- 114-114
The judge that scored the Canelo-Golovkin 1 fight ten rounds to 2 in Canelo’s favor, Adalaide Byrd, was heavily criticized by boxing fans for her scoring of the contest because it didn’t match the fight that had taken place that night.
Even the judge that turned in the 114-114 score, Glenn Feldman, gave Canelo rounds that should have gone to Golovkin. Ultimately, the draw made Canelo look bad in the eyes of the fans, who felt he was given that result due to his vast popularity.
Canelo vs. Golovkin fight 2
In the Canelo-Golovkin rematch a year later, on September 15, 2018, Canelo won a 12 round majority decision over Golovkin. In the contest’s aftermath, boxing fans were primarily split over their view of who won the fight.
While some fans were felt that Canelo deserved the victory because he had landed the better shot and was pressuring nonstop, other fans pointed out that the Mexican star was exhausted after six rounds and appeared to lose the entire second half of the fight.
The way the fight played out, the Canelo vs. Golovkin 2 contest should have been scored a 12 round draw rather than a victory for the Mexican superstar. Again, it was an outcome that favored Canelo in terms of the scoring.
Judge’s scores for the second Canelo vs. Golovkin fight:
- 114-114
- 115-113 – Canelo
- 115-113 – Canelo
Interestingly, both fights took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where Canelo’s next fight against Bivol will take place on May 7th.
Some boxing fans believe that Canelo can’t lose while fighting at that venue, apart from being knocked out. Canelo isn’t disturbed by the belief that these fans have. Because of that, he’s taking the Bivol back to the T-Mobile rather than a different venue that doesn’t have the baggage.
GGG does not feel pressure
“I don’t experience any pressure at all,” Golovkin continued. “I look ahead because whatever happened, happened. I honestly can’t look at things that way,” said Golovkin about not being disturbed about his two fights with Canelo.
“If I’m going to approach the third fight with Canelo, it’ll certainly be with different thoughts and not with the idea of righting any wrongs. I’m not in boxing to prove anything to anybody,” said Golovkin.
“There’s no need for me to have a particular win. I continue my career because I feel great.”
