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By: Hans Themistode
Canelo Alvarez’s plans were crystal clear.
After pilfering every world title at 168 pounds, the Mexican star would then audaciously go up in weight to take on WBA 175-pound titlist, Dmitry Bivol. Once Alvarez cleared that hurdle, he would then move on to a third, and presumably final, showdown against Gennadiy Golovkin.
Although Alvarez viewed Bivol as a significant challenge, the former four-division world titlist believed he would ultimately emerge from their contest victoriously. However, as the two faced off on May 7th, Alvarez and his undying fans were given a rude awakening. On the night, Bivol both outboxed and out brawled the pound-for-pound star, en route to defending his light heavyweight crown.
With Alvarez’s defeat, came a certain haze surrounding his once clear future. Initially, Alvarez stated that he would elect to take on Bivol in an immediate rematch. However, after further thought, Alvarez has decided against it and instead, will look to put an end to his rivalry with Golovkin.
“Surely yes [about fighting Golovkin next],” said Alvarez during a recent interview with ESPN Deportes. “We already had that contract, that agreement, so we have to continue what we started.”
By no means is Alvarez, 31, eschewing a second showdown against Bivol. Nonetheless, as the Mexican star eludes to, a matchup against Golovkin was already agreed upon well before he came up short against the current WBA light heavyweight champion.
Ultimately, news of Alvarez opting to face Golovkin for a third time is likely music to the longtime middleweight champion’s ears. Following their initial showdown in September of 2017, Golovkin was left shellshocked as he believed he had done more than enough to pick up the victory. Nevertheless, he was forced to settle for a majority decision draw. Anxious to prove their superiority to one another, the two locked horns once again. While their sequel was a back and forth affair, it was Alvarez who handed the majority decision victory, much to the chagrin of Golovkin.
Although acrimonious over the entire ordeal, Golovkin has returned to the win column over and over again. With four consecutive victories, including three of which came via stoppage, Golovkin is buzzing with confidence.
Most recently, the current unified middleweight champion was last seen in the ring on April 9th, earlier this year. The newly turned 40-year-old brazenly stomped into the Japanese home of Ryota Murata, before violently ending his middleweight title reign via 9th round stoppage.
As Alvarez now prepares to take on Golovkin at 168 pounds, he isn’t ruling out a return to the light heavyweight division. In fact, the Mexican star essentially guaranteed that following his showdown against Golovkin, a second contest against Bivol will be next on his docket.
“I think those are the two biggest fights in boxing, the fight with Golovkin and the rematch with Bivol. Unfortunately we lost, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try again. The important thing here is perseverance and we’re going to do it again.”
