Boxing fans have been spoiled in 2017, baring witness to a deluge of jaw-damaging punches and jaw-dropping moments.
Anthony Joshua knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in a changing of the guard at heavyweight. An Australian school teacher named Jeff Horn channelled his inner-Rocky and upset Manny Pacquiao. Andre Ward stopped Sergei Kovalev in their anticipated rematch and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai did the same to Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr., Guillermo Rigondeaux and Vasyl Lomachenko continue to surge up the pound-for-pound rankings, and apparently there was a small event in Las Vegas that featured a future Hall of Famer against a loudmouth mixed martial artist.
The pièce de résistance for what has been an incredible year for the sport, however, is Saturday’s middleweight title fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.
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Is there the same type of pandemonium surrounding this fight as there was for the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor spectacle? Not even close.
Canelo-Golovkin has a different feel, though. A more important feel.
With Mayweather-McGregor there was money, showmanship, a general sense of intrigue or mystery. With Canelo-Golovkin there is prestige. Two of the most exciting fighters at the pinnacle of the sport both in their prime going toe-to-toe.
HBO had a fantastic albeit short-lived series that debuted in 2003 called Legendary Nights that chronicled some of the most memorable battles in boxing history. One of fights featured was the 1985 classic between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns that would determine who the top middleweight in the world really was.
Canelo-Golovkin has all the makings of a modern-day Hagler-Hearns.
Back in ’85, Hagler was in the midst of what would end up being a 37-fight unbeaten streak. Hagler was a savage puncher and the consensus top middleweight in boxing…just like Golovkin who sports a 37-0 record.
Meanwhile, Hearns was a fan favourite and world champion in multiple divisions whose only career loss took place at welterweight at the hands of an all-time great (“Sugar” Ray Leonard). Canelo just happens to be a world champion in multiple divisions whose only career loss took place at welterweight at the hands of an all-time great (Mayweather).
Hagler knocked Hearns out in the third round of what is often referenced as the preeminent fight of the era. Does this mean Golovkin will knock out Canelo? No. Does it mean Saturday’s contest will be revered three decades from now? Not necessarily.
Still, the odds of this fight being a disappointment appear nonexistent.
“He has a very aggressive style. He comes to search and destroy and he comes in search of a knockout,” Canelo said of his opponent earlier this week. “You know me, I don’t back down. I’m a counter puncher and I like to fight. It has all the ingredients to be one of the best fights ever.”
Stylistically, this fight is about as interesting as it gets.
Canelo, the slight underdog, is always willing to brawl but he’s not a pure brawler. He strings together combinations masterfully, mixing in brutal body shots while maintaining intelligent defence, and that’s what we saw in May when he cemented himself as Mexico’s top star outclassing countryman Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Golovkin, in his charming broken English accent, loves telling fans they are going to see a “big drama show” whenever he fights. Danny Jacobs became the first fighter in nearly a decade to take Golovkin the distance when they met in March, which was a shock to many considering the Kazakhstani fighter’s reputation.
Golovkin is a devastating puncher with both hands. A jab as effective as a cross, a cross as effective as a sledgehammer, and a left hook that will render you unconscious rather quickly.
It’s not that he knocks out his opponents, it’s how he does it.
The glut of terrific tilts and moments we’ve seen this year has erased any notion that there is waning interest in the sweet science and Canelo-Golovkin has the potential to up the ante on everything we’ve seen thus far far.
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