Canelo has to stand up to the bully

The room for improvement is being occupied by only one of these fighters and that is Canelo. GGG fought the way we expected of him, but Canelo is the enigma here.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin was the biggest fight last year and still is the biggest fight this year. That should tell you how much the anticipation is for the rematch this coming Sunday.

The first fight ended in a controversial draw and though it was competitive, it was marred by a truly bizarre 118-110 scorecard for Canelo turned in by judge Adelaide Byrd.

FACTORS. They were supposed to fight last May, but Alvarez was suspended on account of steroid use, and this is one factor that could tell heavily on Sunday’s outcome.

This early, some pundits have been harping on Canelo’s noticeably leaner physique ergo maliciously implying the validity of the findings. Of course, I disagree on this fallacious narrative but the question on everybody’s minds is not about physique but rather, performance.

During the first fight, Canelo moved more and landed plenty of clean blows, but because he was constantly alternating between offense and defense, we didn’t really see the kind of power he has been known for. Of course, Golovkin’s chin has probably a lot to do with it, which brings me to GGG’s performance.

Can he perform any better? He did all he could in trying to chase down Canelo and minimizing the damage any counter-fire presented. If you count the Daniel Jacobs fight prior, we haven’t really seen evidence of the dominating presence he used to be.

Is age finally catching up with GGG? If so, how will that factor in for this rematch one year later where he is now 36 years old? In sum, both fighters under-performed in that fight, but that is expected at the highest level of elite competition.

MY TAKE. The room for improvement is being occupied by only one of these fighters and that is Canelo. GGG fought the way we expected of him, but Canelo is the enigma here.

Aside from the steroid issue hounding him, we know he is capable of a hybrid of styles-boxing his opponent’s ears off like he did against Shane Mosely and Miguel Cotto or brutalizing them into unconsciousness like Alfredo Angulo and Amir Khan.

We know the power is there and he just has to commit to his punches but he was clearly playing it safe in the first fight against a murderous puncher like Golovkin. The question is: Which Canelo will show up? For me that is the deciding factor here. If Canelo fights GGG the same way he did in the first fight, he will probably lose via decision.

GGG’s take no prisoners approach is, points-wise--attractive to ringside judges who might be inclined to give him the nod for majority of the rounds. Canelo has to stand up to the bullying but I am not sure he can. GGG via unanimous decision.

LAST ROUND. It’s on Theanna Rayne Zosa-Tan who celebrates her birthday this week. Cheers!

For me, I don’t feel sad because I wouldn’t even know what I’m expected to feel. Because it was my first Grand Slam victory, overall I felt really happy and I know that I accomplished a lot.

NAOMI OSAKA