By Sean Jones: Gennadiy Golovkin did his part to put himself in the slot for a trilogy fight with Canelo Alvarez in September on DAZN PPV by beating Ryota Murata last weekend in Saitama, Japan.
The way IBF middleweight champion Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) struggled early on against the 36-year-old WBA 160-lb champion Murata (16-3, 13 KOs), was enough to where a lot of people don’t want to waste their time seeing GGG fight Canelo a third time.
Fans don’t feel that the 40-year-old Golovkin has enough youth left to defeat Canelo at this late stage in his career, and they’d rather not have to sit and watch one of their favorite fighters get taken apart by the still young 31-year-old Mexican star.
Golovkin is almost like family for some fans, and they don’t want to watch him lose to Canelo, who conveniently waited four years after their last fight in 2018 to finally agree to face him a third time.
Now, it’s up to Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) to win his fight against Dmitry Bivol on May 7th to set up the Golovkin third match-up.
Canelo is considered the favorite against the unbeaten WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs), but that doesn’t mean a thing.
Sean Jones is predicting a one-sided win for Bivol on May 7th over Canelo, and he’s not going to let the judges wreck things as they did in the two Golovkin fights at that venue.
Alvarez has been padding his record for years, selecting guys that arguably should have NEVER been world champions in the first place.
Bivol is far more talented than anyone Canelo has faced in many years, and he could beat him on Cinco de Mayo in a humiliating fashion at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Golovkin struggled early
“Ryota Murata is 36, so it wasn’t like it was a young stud taking him apart for a few rounds,” said Gareth A. Davies to TalkSport Boxing in reacting to Gennady Golovkin’s ninth-round knockout win over Ryota Murata last Saturday night.
“One of the great middleweights of all time, Gennadiy Golovkin in one of his last fights this is going to be. He’s 40-years-old. We’re going to look at his fight with Ryota Murata, which leads into the Saul Canelo Alvarez trilogy fight.
“He’s 40, and without rolling back the years, he got a victory tonight at the Saitama Super Arena, an amazing arena which I love,” said Davies.
“He did get a victory, he did get his hand raised and he showed glimpses of vintage Golovkin,” said Adam Catterall. “But at certain points, especially early on in this fight, Murata was having some serious success.
“You can’t help but to think if you go for part three against Canelo, he’ll take full advantage of that bodywork that Murata was doing early doors and he will probably have more success than the man from Japan.”
In fairness to Golovkin Murata has huge power, and with the kinds of shots he was throwing, he’d have beaten all the guys Canelo defeated to become the undisputed champion at 168.
Murata is a better fighter than Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, and Rocky Fielding
Should GGG still be undefeated?
“I had it 114-114 apiece in the second [Canelo vs. Golovkin] fight, and I had it 115-113 for Gennadiy Golovkin in the first fight. I think it’s very harsh at this moment without a win out of those two fights.
“I think you’re right what you’re saying there. There are two ways of looking at it. I think it [Canelo-Golovkin 3] might deliver something brilliant because these two guys are brilliant.
“But I’ve just got a funny feeling that where Canelo is right now, he’s not on the other side of the mountain. He’s still going up the mountain, and he’s getting bigger, he’s getting stronger and he’s taking on killers week in and week out.
“He’s constantly in comparison, whereas you’ve got Golovkin who has been out a long time. He came back today, and, yes, he was rusty. He looked a little slow early on. Yes, he put his foot down after five and got the job done and broke his man down doing typical Golovkin things.
“I personally as a Golovkin fan, I don’t need to see him get outclassed by Canelo. I don’t need to see it,” said Adam. “He becomes the second man in the division to unify [it after age 40], which is ridiculous. It’s a phenomenal thing to add to his ledger of what he’s done over the years.
“Everyone knows my thoughts on the two Canelo [vs. Golovkin] fights. I think he [GGG] should still be classed as undefeated, even though in the [Sergiy] Derevyanchenko fight, I thought Derevyanchenko might have beaten him, but that’s for another debate.
“He’s got a hell of a chin, Golovkin. It’s right up there with the very best granite whiskers that we’ve seen from this sport down the years,” said Adam.
Sean Jones believes Golovkin should still be unbeaten, but with two draws in his fight with Sergiy Derevyanchenko in 2019 and in his rematch with Canelo in 2018.
Golovkin didn’t do enough to win either of those fights, but he didn’t lose them. Winning a decision against Canelo is not easy, even if you’re name is Golovkin.
Canelo must beat Bivol
“I worry. It’s going to be at super middleweight against Canelo if Canelo comes through Dmitry Bivol on Cinco de Mayo, fighting in Las Vegas. I’m not relishing it for Gennadiy. His legacy was tainted with that first fight [against Canelo in 2017].
“They’re [Golovkin and Canelo] are both on huge contracts. Canelo calls his own tune, doesn’t he? Eddie Hearn has put it out there that the third fight, the trilogy is in September. Obviously, Canelo has to come through Dmitry Bivol on Cinco de Mayo on the first Saturday in May in Las Vegas.
“The fights not yet been signed is our understanding. Gennadiy, Tom Loeffler, and his crew will look at that and wonder about that. Gennadiy probably only has one fight left maybe two.
“The athletic desire, the legacy that he could create would enable him to walk away, and with many of us saying in boxing that he beat Canelo twice, although history is unkind to him.
“They’ve got a lot of thinking to do, but they’re going to wait until May the 7th. I think they’ll watch that result [for Canelo vs. Bivol], and then I think he has a big decision.”
You hate to say it but Canelo will lose to Bivol next month, and it’s going to be a mismatch. That doesn’t mean that Canelo and Golovkin can’t still fight. Fans will still want to see the two of them fight regardless.
Canelo’s fans won’t jump overboard if Bivol humiliates him on May 7th. Those fans will still be there because they’ll minimize Canelo’s loss by pointing out that Bivol had the size advantage due to him being a natural light heavyweight.
Huge retirement payday
“He’s never been a super middle, Golovkin, and then great man from Kazahstan may opt not to take it,” said Gareth. “He’s already a very wealthy man, but that’s a BIG global fight, and he could walk away with $20 million from that fight. So, I think he’ll take it.
“When you look at the best chins in boxing what springs to mind is the unbeaten Rocky Marciano, George Chuvalo, Carlos Monzon, Kid Gavilan, Jake LaMotta, Carmen Basilio. He is without a doubt physically a phenomenon. I’ve always thought that about him,” said Gareth about Golovkin.
“He’s always been able to take it, but it’s how he slides and rides punches as well. I didn’t like the way he was getting caught early on in this fight against Murata and to the body as well.
“You know, the body does lose its tensile strength as you get into your late 30s. Human men are not designed to be at the elite level into their late 30s unless they’re heavyweights. He [Golovkin] is so amazing.
“I was very concerned about Gennadiy. He has an amazing chin, and he’s always had freakishly powerful leavers, which made him one of the most feared fighters in the world at 160 pounds for a very long time.
“He’s a brilliant middleweight, and one of the all-time greats in that division. I think only a few fighters in that division have won world titles beyond the age of 40.”
