Trilogy fight with Canelo: Will Golovkin announce career end?

What made Gennady Golovkin a champion?

Back in 1982, a boy was born in the family of a Karaganda miner. The boy was destined to conquer the boxing Olympus and become one of the brightest athletes of our time.

Little is known about the childhood and youth of the future champion, but with the consideration of some biographical facts, we can assume that it was not easy.

Gennady Golovkin and his twin brother Maxim grew up in Maikuduk, the most criminal district of Karaganda. Locals say, it is very difficult to survive in such an area without doing sports, so Golovkin and his brother decided to take up boxing. They were 8 years old.

As GGG later admitted, at first he did not like boxing - getting punched in the face was painful and unpleasant. Despite this, during the first sparring bouts, he did not feel feared.

At first, young Gena did not like sparring bouts in the ring. He preferred to watch fights of world-famous boxers like MuhammadAli, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, then discuss them with his brothers. Very soon he understood how to move, hit and dodge blows.

Unshakable GGG

Throughout his career, Gennady Golovkin has had 44 bouts, winning 42 of them, while 37 ended with knockouts. One fight ended in a draw, and another – with a defeat.

Gennady Golovkin holds three middleweight champion’s belts. He has won over 10 fighters for this title. He is a two-time IBF, WBA and IBO champion. He is the current IBF champion (2015 - 2018, 2019 – till present), IBO (2011-2018, 2019 – till present) and WBA (2010 - 2018, 2022 – till present)

Former WBC (2016-2018), The Ring (2018) middleweight champion, Gennady Golovkin is known as a heavy puncher and knockout artist, who has won most of his fights ahead of schedule. He has scored 23 consecutive knockouts in 9 years – from November 22, 2008 to March 18, 2017. He made it to the Guinness Book of Records for the highest percentage of knockouts in the middleweight history.

Undisputed super middleweight champion Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez of Mexico turned out to be Golovkin’s major rival in his career. The first Golovkin-Canelo fight ended in a draw in 2017 in Las Vegas. The bout lasted for 12 rounds. Golovkin was 35 and Álvarez was 37 at that time.

The second fight held on September 16, 2018, in Las Vegas, was won by Canelo.

Canelo is known for his aggressive tactics, while Golovkin is recognized as a calm temper and experienced fighter. That is why the fights between these boxers are especially spectacular.

Trilogy fight

The GGG-Canelo trilogy fight is the long-awaited event of this fall.

The fight is slated for Sunday, September 18, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. GGG and Canelo will fight for the world’s undisputed champion’s title in super middleweight division.

Many call it a revenge from Golovkin, who is 40 now, which is suitable age for the end of career. Many wanted to see Canelo as Golovkin's last opponent. Foreign media assume that this fight might be the last one for the Kazakh fighter.

Indeed, the athlete announced earlier that the third fight with Saul «Canelo» Alvarez would be his final performance, but under the contract with the DAZN streaming service. Golovkin has not yet shared his plans on further cooperation with any company, but he also did not make a statement about his retirement.

Golovkin and DAZN signed the agreement in 2019. Since then, the Kazakhstani has held four fights on the streaming platform. The final bout of the trilogy with Canelo will be the fifth one.

As for Álvarez, this fight will also be uneasy for him. After all, he will have to justify judges’ decisions on the two previous fights. In addition, all his belts are at stake. Canelo is the undisputed super middleweight champion.

Although many view Golovkin as an underdog in tomorrow’s fight vs Álvarez, he made it clear that one should not write him off.

«I am happy to be here. Last time was four years ago, it was a long time. I think this is the biggest day for boxing right now, and the biggest gift for the fans. I feel confident, I feel strong, I feel ready. I am confident, I will win. I believe in myself, in my team and in people surrounding me. This is my true life. We are both professional athletes. His strategy is more aggressive and mine is based on experience,» Golovkin said in his final statement.

In turn, Canelo promised again to knock out Golovkin.

«I feel like I work better under pressure, and the pressure I’ve put on myself is to finish this inside the distance. I know it’s going to be very difficult, but nothing in life is easy. I always look to achieve what’s difficult. I’ve got a really tough rival in front of me; a strong, intelligent opponent. But the knockout will be my aim on Saturday night,» Canelo said.

He also noted that he did not plan to fight Golovkin and agreed only to please his numerous fans and his television partners from DAZN.

«Finally, I'm glad that we will have the third fight. This is a chance to give people what they want and finish everything once and for all,» he said in an interview with GQ Sports.

The fact that fans asked for the third bout speaks in favour of Golovkin. People believe in his perseverance.

Foreign media report that this fight is interesting because 5 years have passed, and both athletes have matured. This fight will settle the dispute about what is more important - pressure or experience. This means that it is pointless to talk about what can be an impulse to end a career. A true athlete decides on his own to continue or end his career.

The collaboration between Gennady Golovkin and DAZN streaming service will last less than initially planned, but GGG's career will not end. Golovkin has confirmed that the third fight vs Álvarez will mark the end of his exclusive contract with DAZN. Golovkin and DAZN announced a six-fight deal in March 2019 , as per which Gennady shall be paid more than $100 million, but the agreement will be terminated after his fifth appearance on the streaming service.

According to experts, whether Gennady wins or loses, he will be the first-ballot Hall of Famer, as one of the greatest middleweight champions of all time.

Author: Rabiga Nurbay