By Max Schramm: Boxing great Marco Antonio Barrera is predicting that Canelo Alvarez will be looking to finish his rivalry with Gennadiy Golovkin in an emphatic manner by knocking him out less than four months from now on September 17th.
Golovkin is finally getting his chance to gain revenge against Canelo after four years, and you can imagine he & his trainer Jonathon Banks will use everything they learned from watching what Dmitry Bivol did to defeat the Mexican star.
If Golovkin wants a lucrative fourth fight against Canelo, he must defeat him this time. Otherwise, the rivalry will be finished for good with their September fight.
Canelo will need to fight faster against Golovkin than he’s shown because he doesn’t throw a lot of punches and requires frequent rest breaks. Alvarez’s cardio was subpar, and it’s unclear whether his trainer Eddy Reynoso works on that area of his game.
Barrera believes that the third fight won’t involve strategy but rather Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) going for the knockout of the 40-year-old Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs).
Canelo has a lot of doubters from the first two fights against Golovkin in 2017 & 2017, with many boxing fans believing he should have been beaten twice.
Canelo needs to defeat Golovkin in a manner that leaves no doubts this time, considering many feel the judges gave the Mexican star preferential treatment.
As bad as the scores were for Canelo’s recent one-sided defeat against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7th, they were arguably far worse in his two fights with Golovkin.
The first fight was just a travesty, with Canelo given a 10-2 score by one judge in a match that Golovkin appeared to win 8-4. Both matches were staged at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the same venue Canelo fought Bivol.
“There was a lot of entertainment, they were two very close fights that brought out the best in Canelo, and the best in GGG,” Marco Antonio Barrera said to DAZN.
“Many people were left wondering who won the first and then the second. In this third fight, there will be no strategy; there will be no doubt who will win the fight,” Barrera continued.
“Canelo Alvarez will be looking for the knockout from start to finish to be able to convince and close this trilogy.
“Saul, I think, will be on top of him looking for the knockout no matter what,” said Barrera.
“Canelo. I feel like GGG has had his best days. He’s such a good fighter that he can still operate at the highest level,” said Viddal Riley to Pro Boxing Fans. He’s not in his prime.
“The 31-year-old Canelo has a hunch on his back because he just lost. I feel like as Canelo is ascending, GGG is descending. I’m with Canelo for that fight.”
