Golovkin, Alvarez take over spotlight

LAS VEGAS: Gennady Golovkin’s bout tomorrow against Canelo Alvarez has not enjoyed the same anticipation as last month’s clash between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor but it is the one boxing purists are calling the fight of the year.

When the clash between Kazakhstan’s Golovkin, the undefeated middleweight world champion, and Mexican Alvarez was announced last May, for about a month the showdown was being billed as the fight of the year.

But in June, the MayweatherMcGregor fight was announced and the outspoken fighters commanded the media spotlight, helped along by a fourcity international media tour that stretched across three countries.

Tomorrow’s clash in Las Vegas between Golovkin and Alvarez for the unified middleweight world championship pits opponents who are easily the best two middleweights in boxing and two of the top poundforpound fighters in the sport.

‘‘Canelo against Golovkin will go down in history,’’ Oscar De La Hoya, whose promotional company, Golden Boy Promotions, is putting on tomorrow’s fight.

‘‘It will be a fight talked about for many years to come. The way Hearns and Hagler and Leonard v Hearns are still being talked about more than 30 years later.’’

Both fighters have such a fearsome reputation for punching power that many experts are struggling to predict the outcome in what is considered an evenly matched bout.

The 35yearold Golovkin (370, 33 KOs) has made 18 consecutive world middleweight title defences, while his 27yearold opponent (4911, 34 KOs) has won world titles in two divisions. Alvarez’s lone defeat came against Mayweather in 2013.

Unlike the brash and expletivefilled press conferences held by Mayweather and McGregor in the leadup to their fight, Golovkin and Alvarez have struck a much different tone.

‘‘I don’t want to talk too much,’’ Golovkin said at their final prefight press conference, to which Alvarez followed, ‘‘You know me, I don’t like to talk a lot.’’— Reuters