Boxing’s real fight is finally here
The freak show of a fight is over and for that, everyone in boxing should be glad. That Conor McGregor managed to make it into the 10th round against a retired 40-year-old who can’t knock real boxers out isn’t much to celebrate, unless you’re McGregor’s accountant.
Now comes the real fight — and what a fight it will be.
Canelo Alvarez against Gennady Golovkin is as good as it gets. They meet Saturday night in a middleweight title clash as highly anticipated by boxing purists as was McGregor’s challenge of Floyd Mayweather Jr. to UFC fans.
Two fighters who both rank high on anyone’s pound-for-pound list. One loss between them, with Golovkin’s three middleweight belts on the line.
And unlike Mayweather, they knock people out.
“It is not a fight,” Golovkin said. “It is a war.”
Whatever you call it, it shapes up as the most anticipated fight of the year in boxing. It’s not too much of a stretch to say it might be the best middleweight clash since Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns engaged in their three-round classic more than 30 years ago.
Styles really do make fights and these are two fighters with explosive styles.
“We’re both going to fight a fight where anybody can win by knockout,” Alvarez said. “We both have the power to win by knockout. But that’s what makes for a great fight.”
The fight is a rarity in boxing, two stars in their prime meeting in a fight that will likely define both their careers. It’s a huge risk for both, but the rewards should be good, too, with purses north of US$10 million.
Golovkin is making his 19th title defence, one off the record of 20 in the middleweight division set by Bernard Hopkins. He has done it fighting everywhere but in the boxing capital of the world, where he will make his debut against Alvarez at Las Vegas’ new T-Mobile Arena.