By Brian Webber: Canelo Alvarez has decided to take the third fight with Gennadiy Golovkin on September 17th over a second clash with Dmitry Bivol. Canelo says the fight with Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) will be announced in “the coming days.” Canelo will be defending his four super middleweight titles against Golovkin.
Canelo’s plans are for him to defeat Golovkin and then face Bivol in a rematch later. We probably won’t see Canelo fight Bivol again until next May.
Considering how much trouble Golovkin gave Canelo in their first two fights in 2017 & 2018, it’s questionable whether he’ll make it to the rematch with Bivol without getting beaten again.
If Golovkin is a quick study, he could hand Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) his second consecutive defeat by following the blueprint created by WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs).
If Golovkin could follow the exact blueprint created by Bivol, he could not only defeat Canelo but finish his career.
In his decisive 12-round unanimous decision on May 7th, Bivol got the better of Canelo with combinations and taking advantage of his limited stamina.
Fortunately for Canelo, Golovkin has stamina problems of his own, as we saw in his recent grueling war with WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata on April 9th. Golovkin looked ragged after three rounds, and the only thing that saved him was his power.
Murata beat Golovkin like a drum through the first five rounds, and things looked bleak for the Kazahstan fighter.
In the sixth, Golovkin turned things around by landing a big right hand to the head of Murata that knocked out his mouthpiece.
After getting hit by that punch, Murata had nothing left, making it easy for the 40-year-old Golovkin to take control of the fight and win by a ninth-round stoppage.
“We already had that contract [with Golovkin], that agreement, so we have to continue what we started,” said Canelo to ESPN Knockout.
“I think those are the two biggest fights in boxing, the fight with Golovkin and the rematch with Bivol,” Canelo said, sounding very much like his promoter Eddie Hearn with those words.
“Unfortunately, we lost, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try again,” Alvarez said about his loss to Bivol.
If Golovkin can raise his game and throw combinations, he could cause an upset against Canelo. The problem is, Golovkin is not a combination puncher, and he doesn’t possess the same engine that Bivol had going for him in his win over Canelo.
Bivol looked like he was fighting in first gear against Canelo and showed no signs of fatigue, even in the later rounds. One got the sense that Bivol could have blown Canelo away if he’d taken it out of first gear and pressed him hard in the last rounds.
“The important thing here is perseverance, and we’re going to do it again,” said Canelo. “What is certain is that we are going to return in September. And in the coming days. We are going to announce the fight.”
