Finally, a fight worth the hype
Golovkin vs Álvarez could be the match that delivers a spectacle worth watching
Maybe, just this once, the boxing in the ring might live up to the hype.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, SA time, an event labelled “Supremacy” will take place on the Las Vegas strip. It will feature two of the most heavy-hitting power boxers of modern times: Kazakhstan’s Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin and the Mexican Canelo Álvarez.
Following the recent noncontest between Floyd Mayweather and Conor Mcgregor, you can be forgiven for your scepticism.
That was a contest transparently designed to make a lot of money. And when they’re laughing all the way to the bank, they are usually laughing at you, the idiot who got up early in the morning to watch the farce.
But you don’t want to miss this one. In a world in which hype routinely out-punches reality, this could be the fight that delivers a spectacle worth watching.
Golovkin has won all 37 of his professional fights, 33 of them by knock-out. Álvarez has lost one of his 49 fights (to Mayweather in 2015) and won 34 by knock-out. GGG is ageing at 35, while Alvarez is in his prime at 26.
American boxing writer Bob Smith points out: “The thing that would most help Álvarez in a fight with Golovkin is his speed and combinations. GGG is relatively easy to hit among the truly elite fighters, but of course as the world found out . . . he can punch back when hit as well.”
Despite this glowing description of Álvarez and a reference to his “cast iron” body, Smith still concludes: “He has perhaps a 10%-15% chance of beating Golovkin.”
It might not be so cut and dried. Golovkin might be outboxed, outclassed even, and take a lot of heavy punches — one of which could end it all. But, unless that hay-maker lands with perfection, he will assert brute force and win.