Boxing went to the well one too many times.
After two hotly-contested and contentious contests in 2017 and 2018, the third meeting between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin was far less competitive. While the judges scored the first two fights as a draw and a decision win for Canelo, respectively, the Mexican superstar won the third contest convincingly, despite what the close scorecards would suggest.
Although Alvarez didn’t get the knockout he craved, he still landed the cleaner and more effective punches. He was able to outwork Golovkin consistently and had no trouble marking up the countenance of his Kazakh rival.
The result of the rubber match came down to current form; Alvarez is still an elite fighter very close to his prime, while Golovkin is undoubtedly on the decline.
You only have to compare the two highlight videos below to notice a stark difference in Golovkin’s ability. The first shows him during his prime run from 2012-2016 when he went 13-0 with 13 knockouts, eviscerating every contender with his relentless aggression and soul-sapping body attack. In the second, he is slow, tentative, and gun-shy.
Golovkin didn't throw enough punches to beat Canelo the third time. And even when he did open up, he didn’t put enough power into his shots to damage Canelo and earn his respect.
So why didn’t Golovkin throw enough punches?
Well, at 40 years old and having fought close to 400 bouts (345-5 as an amateur), his body can't do what it used to. His speed and reflexes have been blunted with time, meaning that he couldn't react quickly enough to take advantage of the openings. Even a half-second delay can be the difference between throwing a punch or not. Golovkin may have also been reluctant to let his hands go because he lacked confidence in his stamina to last the twelve rounds.
Yes, Canelo’s faster hands and counter-punching ability contributed to Golovkin’s hesitation, but that reason was secondary. It was more a result of GGG's diminished body not being able to respond like it used to. If you replace Canelo with any current middleweight or super-middleweight contender, Golovkin would have struggled the same as he did in his last fight against the limited Ryota Murata.
Although Golovkin managed to make the second half of the fight far more competitive, it was clear to everyone watching (besides the judges) that Alvarez was the vastly superior fighter.
Where do they go from here?
Golovkin:
Although he asserted in his post-fight interview that he has plenty of fight left, Golovkin should retire. His decline will only get worse with time, and I would rather not see his health and legacy suffer from fighting for too long. Even though he might win a few more fights, those wins won’t come easy, and he will likely absorb plenty of unnecessary damage. And for what? He has already built a Hall-of-Fame-worthy career. Any wins he earns from here on out won't significantly strengthen that legacy. I know it's wishful thinking, but hopefully, he calls it a career soon.
Alvarez:
While much of my commentary focused on Golovkin's decline, Canelo didn't look his best either. I was fully expecting him to stop GGG with relative ease, and that was not the case. Maybe his last loss to Dmitry Bivol wasn't an aberration, and he too is slowing down, albeit not as precipitously as Golovkin. That is completely plausible given that Canelo has had over 60 fights as a pro, including eight contests since the rematch with Golovkin. I would prefer Canelo to stay at super-middleweight and take on the likes of David Benavidez and David Morrell rather than chase a rematch with Bivol at 175. But given Alvarez's competitive nature and self-confidence, I wouldn't be surprised if he seeks to avenge that loss next.
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