By Adam Baskin: Gennadiy Golovkin sent a message to Canelo Alvarez and the fans at today’s weigh-in when he told them that they know who the “real champion is.”
The comment from Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) was a shot at Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs), who has been saved from two defeats against him, thanks to the Nevada judges that worked their fights in 2017 and 2018.
Golovkin believes he should have had his hand raised in those two fights, and today, he made it clear to the fans that he’s still bitter about it.
During the build-up to the fight, Golovkin has done an admirable job of disguising his true feelings about those two fights, saying he doesn’t have bad blood with Canelo and that the trilogy fight is not personal for him.
Today, it was obvious that Golovkin has been stewing all this time on his resentment for what happened to him in those two contests with Canelo, and he intends to even the score on Saturday.
Golovkin looked in great shape weighing in at 167 3/4 lbs compared to Canelo’s 167 1/2 lbs. Although Golovkin did look a little fatigued from the weight loss, it wasn’t nearly as bad for his recent fights, with him making weight at 160.
“It’s not new. It’s the same like every time,” said Gennadiy Golovkin when asked at the weigh-in what he saw in the face of Canelo Alvarez during the face-off.
“No comment,” said GGG when told that Canelo is looking to stop the fight early.
“Today is the biggest day. Last night was the biggest day for all Mexican people, Independence day. Congratulations, guys. The biggest day for the country. Congrats, guys.
“I want to tell, not just my people. All boxing fans. Come on, guys. If you’re a real boxing fan, you know who the real champion,” said Golovkin.
“I think it’s an important fight for Canelo. Two losses in a row would demystify him. A loss to Golovkin would probably force him to take a fourth fight against his rival to try and get revenge for that loss,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN’s JABS.
“I look at GGG, and I see this fight as potentially being legacy-defining. Golovkin has been one of the biggest stars in boxing for over a decade.
“Ever since he came to the U.S and started knocking guys out on HBO and now on DAZN, he has become one of the most recognizable figures in boxing.
“If you look at his resume, it’s not one of the strongest. You’ve got guys like Daniel Jacobs on there. That was probably his best win. David Lemieux, that was a world title fight. That was another quality win when that fight happened.
“After that, you look at his record, and there’s not a lot of Ws next to the big names. You can certainly argue that Golovkin deserved to win the first fight against Canelo. There was at least one atrocious scorecard in that fight. He was probably robbed of a decision there.
“He didn’t get it. He lost, I think, fairly the second fight against Canelo. He kind of needs this win to truly establish himself as one of the great fighters of this generation.
“He is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining guys. He has been a knockout artist ever since he picked up a pair of boxing gloves, but in terms of resume, in terms of legacy, I think he needs this win.
“If he loses to Canelo, he goes off and probably retires. Does he get into the Hall of Fame? Maybe. I think his resume is a little bit thinner. whereas Canelo, even if he loses, he’s still in his early 30s. He still has time to burnish his resume over the next couple of years. For Golovkin, this might be his last shot,” said Mannix.
