By Sean Jones: David Benavidez is rooting for Gennadiy Golovkin to defeat Canelo Alvarez in September in their third and perhaps final fight of their three-fight rivalry.
Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) still needs to beat WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7th for the trilogy fight against Golovkin to become a reality in September.
Unfortunately for fans, Bivol may wreck the Canelo-Golovkin III trilogy by handing Canelo a defeat. Bivol has got all the tools to beat Canelo, worse than Floyd Mayweather did.
Contrary to the view many boxing fans have about the 40-year-old Golovkin having no chance against Canelo in the third fight, Benavidez believes Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) will give the Mexican star problems just as he did in their first two fights.
Fans already view Golovkin up 2-0 after two fights against Canelo, believing he was robbed on both occasions by the judges in Las Vegas.
In a move that some view as the 31-year-old Canelo trying to increase his chances of winning the third fight with GGG, he waited for 4 years until Golovkin turned 40 before finally agreeing to face him again.
In Golovkin’s fight last weekend against Japanese star Ryota Murata in Saitama, Japan, he had problems with the body punching & pressure that was being put on him through the first four rounds.
To his credit, Golovkin turned things around in the sixth round when he landed a sledgehammer right hand to the jaw of Murata that sent his mouthpiece flying.
That shot took all the fight out of Murata, sending him into retreat for the remainder of the contest until he was finished off by Golovkin in the ninth.
“He looked good. Golovkin is always going to be Golovkin,” said David Benavidez to Fight Hub TV when asked about his thoughts on Golovkin’s ninth-round knockout victory last Saturday against Ryota Murata in Japan.
“He took a little bit of shots [from Murata], but I don’t know if the elevation in Japan messed him up, especially at his age,” Benavidez continued about Golovkin in remarking about his sluggish performance against WBA middleweight champion Murata in Saitama, Japan.
“He looked good, man. I think he took some good shots, but he gave some great shots. He went in there and got the job done.
“I think he’s always going to be one of those types of fighters that is going to have Canelo’s card,” Benavidez said when asked if Canelo will destroy the 40-year-old Golovkin after the way GGG struggled early against Murata last weekend.
“I don’t think he’s going to get mopped like that like everyone is saying, but that’s for those men to figure it out,” Benavidez on the Canelo vs. Golovkin trilogy in September.
“It’s going to be a great fight. I’m definitely going to be on Golovkin’s side, either no matter what. I’m rooting for Golovkin. Golovkin is one of my favorite fighters.
“He’s one of my favorite people, he’s a good guy, so I’m always going to be supporting him,” said Benavidez.
