By Allan Fox: Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin hasn’t given up hope that a trilogy match with Canelo Alvarez can still happen despite three years have elapsed since the last time the two fought in 2018.
What works against IBF middleweight champion Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) getting a lucrative third encounter with Canelo, 31, is a variety of factors. Golovkin will be turning 40 next April, and he’s running out of time to get the fight.
Golovkin not staying active
What also hurts Golovkin’s chances of getting the trilogy match against Canelo is he’s not staying active by fighting two to three times a year to remain in the public eye. Canelo might be more intrigued by the idea of a third fight if Golovkin were still fighting frequently like he used to.
Golovkin fought in December 2020, nearly a year ago, when he destroyed his over-matched IBF mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta by a seventh round knockout.
Before that fight, Golovkin had been out of the ring for ten months, which was another long layoff for a fighter approaching 40. Not good when trying to create pressure on Canelo Alvarez.
What hurts Golovkin more than his advancing age and inactivity is the uninspiring opposition he’s been exclusively facing since 2018.
It seems evident to boxing fans that Golovkin has lost his ambition and is intentionally middle-of-the-road opposition to avoid getting beaten.
Golovkin’s last three fights:
- Kamil Szeremeta
- Steve Rolls
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko
Those are not good fighters and not the ones that GGG needed to fight to put pressure on Canelo. Although Canelo has been beating belt-holders at 168 and 175, he’s been a lot busier than Golovkin and shown more ambition.
Like Golovkin, Canelo has been very selective of the opposition he’s faced, carefully choosing champions that presented very little risk of beating him. It doesn’t matter that Canelo has swerved talented fighters like David Benavidez. The fact that Canelo has been winning titles has kept his fans happy.
Golovkin has shot himself in the foot by not facing quality fighters since his loss to Canelo, and that has given the Mexican star an excuse not to have to fight him. Canelo isn’t lazy, but you can tell that he’s no longer willing to take risks since his fight with Golovkin.
Golovkin’s next fight will face WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata on December 29th in Saitama, Japan. The 35-year-0ld Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) continues the same lackluster opposition Golovkin has been fighting since 2018.
The Japanese star has already between beaten twice by Hassan Ndam and Rob Brant, and he’s not highly thought of.
For Golovkin to put heat on Canelo, he needed to fight these guys:
- Jermall Charlo
- Demetrius Andrade
- David Benavidez
- Chris Eubank Jr
“This fight is possible. Theoretically, nothing has changed,” said Golovkin to Sky Sports on a trilogy match against Canelo Alvarez.
“There are certain questions which have been posed. They are still open; they remain unanswered. We have been discussing it but haven’t moved towards this fight for quite some time,” said Golovkin.
Canelo is going up to cruiserweight to face WBC champion Ilunga Makabu in early 2022. Assuming Canelo defeats Makabu, he’s expected to move down to 175 to face champions Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, or Joe Smith Jr.
That would be a bold move on Canelo’s part to fight any of those three because they present a greater risk to the Mexican star than any of the fighters that he’s faced since his close win over Golovkin in 2018.
For that reason, it’s unlikely Canelo will fight any of the 175-lb champions. What we’ll likely see is Canelo return to 168 to defend against his WBA mandatory John Ryder. That’s a winnable fight for Canelo, and the British fans will love it.
“I don’t think about him at all,” said Golovkin on him supposedly not thinking of Canelo.
“I don’t want to entertain moving to a different division unless there is an offer on the table,” he said.
“Imagine if I moved to 175lbs, the number of people calling me out will increase by 30 percent, said Golovkin.
If Golovkin was thinking in a tactical manner, he should have moved up to 175 in 2019 and taken on Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev to grab one of the belts to use as a bargaining chip to get a trilogy match with Canelo.