Canelo Alvarez & Gennady Golovkin chart different courses
Canelo Alvarez produced an expected result on Saturday in stopping WBO junior welterweight champion Liam Smith in a triumphant and impressive return to 154 pounds. Coming off the heels of Gennady Golovkin’s bludgeoning of Kell Brook, Canelo’s path to their mega fight is starkly different from that of his new nemesis.
There was plenty to admire about Canelo Alvarez’s knockout of Liam Smith, which came via crushing left hook to the body — the kind of fight-ending shot that few fighters can deliver. Before scoring the explosive stoppage, though, Canelo (48-1-1, 34 KOs) displayed the breadth of his boxing skills, employing subtle movement, an effective jab and fluid combination punching to overwhelm the game but ultimately badly outgunned Smith (23-1-1, 13 KOs).
But there was also a plethora of things to loathe about the entire Canelo-Smith spectacle, which took place at the ostentatious home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas.
There was Canelo’s asinine t-shirt that read “Canelo never backs down” in laughably minuscule print; the need for Canelo, despite challenging for the title, to enjoy all the benefits of being the promotion’s A-side; the disastrous undercard; the mistranslation of Canelo’s post-fight comments, which led the audience to believe that Gennady Golovkin had rejected a lucrative offer from Golden Boy Promotions; and the complete absolving of Canelo in favor of throwing Oscar De La Hoya under the proverbial bus.
Although Canelo is erasing much of the goodwill he’d fostered with the vast majority of boxing fans, which extends far beyond his rabid and loyal Mexican supporters, it’s important to remember that what we’re witnessing now is an anomaly in the larger context of Canelo’s career.
Sure, the Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight was a clever money grab that was going to enhance Canelo’s profile regardless of the outcome, but who can blame Golden Boy Promotions and their fighter for cashing in? But by facing the likes of Erislandy Lara and Austin Trout when both fights represented massive risks that hardly matched the potential rewards, Canelo demonstrated a willingness to make compelling, difficult fights.
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The specter of unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, though, has changed things. (A side note: Canelo being introduced before the Smith fight as the “lineal middleweight champion,” while technically correct, came off, frankly, as desperate.) Whether you believe Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions are far more (or exclusively) to blame for the Golovkin fight not getting made, the entire situation reeks of pretence.
When factoring in the court of public opinion, Gennady Golovkin is in an enviable position. Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) can seem to do no wrong, but there are tangible reasons for this: He’s consistently expressed a desire for marquee fights; he seems to face the best available opponents; he’s captivating both in and out of the ring; and, most importantly, he doesn’t get swept up in the vortex of boxing politics.
Although eyebrows were raised when Golovkin signed to face IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook, he can’t be blamed for cashing in (to an extent) instead of settling for a middling title defense against a lesser known but legitimate 160-pounder. Indeed, the size advantage Golovkin held over Brook was decisive, but it would be difficult to argue that the matchmaking was more “irresponsible” than Canelo Alvarez-Amir Khan.
DALLAS, UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 17: Canelo Alvarez, left, fights with Liam Smith, right, during the Canelo v Smith – WBO Middleweight World Championship Fight at AT
Moreover, Golovkin was willing to travel to London, England, to face Brook both because it made the most financial sense and because he doesn’t have the ego of a typical elite champion. While one shouldn’t fawn too much over Golovkin for making what was ultimately an pragmatic choice, going to London would have been a deal breaker for almost any top fighter who has built a Stateside following. And, to be blunt, Golovkin’s willingness to travel provides a stark contrast to Canelo walking to the ring second, for example, when Liam Smith was the defending champion. (To be fair, Canelo has certainly earned his popularity and cash cow status — a fact that is undeniable. It’s the expectations that come with this lofty position that are unsettling.)
Canelo Alvarez is supposed to fight again on December 10, while Gennady Golovkin is slated for a late November return. Golden Boy Promotions has reiterated their stance that Golovkin-Canelo will happen one year from now, in fall 2017. This means that both of them will have at least two more fights before that September date.
There has been some talk that Canelo could face Willie Monroe Jr., who defeated Gabriel Rosado in the plodding co-feature, next. Monroe is a skilled boxer, but there is zero demand for that fight. David Lemieux would be a far more intriguing option, but he fights on October 22 in Montreal, making a December turnaround extremely unlikely. (Although knowing Lemieux, he may still jump at the opportunity.)
Golovkin owes Daniel Jacobs, his lesser WBA counterpart, a title fight, which Golovkin will gladly make to keep his collection of belts intact — assuming Jacobs truly wants the bout. After that, one assumes that he’ll make another run at Billy Joe Saunders, as long as the Brit still holds the WBO strap. Obviously, Golovkin would leap at the chance to face Canelo Alvarez next.
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Gennady Golovkin (blue trunks) and Kell Brook (red trunks) in action during their World Middleweight Title contest at The O2 Arena on September 10, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
The point here is that while Gennady Golovkin will continue attempting to secure the most important fights possible, Canelo Alvarez will embark on a middleweight preparatory exercise. To insist that Canelo needs to gradually build up to a middleweight fight against Golovkin is insulting to boxing fans who can see how big, strong and skilled Canelo is. How would Canelo Alvarez be that much more prepared for Gennady Golovkin after two more fights against foes who will come nowhere close to matching GGG in any regard?
Canelo Alvarez is entering his physical prime. He has elite skills and power, and his steady improvement throughout his pro career has been fascinating to observe. Canelo often talks about making history — about becoming a legend. And honestly, he’s heading in the right direction. At this point, though, he finds himself at a crossroads, but the diverging paths lead to the same destination: Gennady Golovkin. Canelo needs this fight, but how he gets there should also matter.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. created an untenable career model for elite fighters to emulate. We’ll probably never see the likes of Mayweather again — someone so skilled, so shrewd, so wealthy and so Machiavellian. It’s somewhat troublesome that Canelo Alvarez seems to have gotten a taste of what it means to be boxing’s most bankable star in the post-Mayweather era, as it has created a tension between who Canelo has always been and who those with specific, vested interests think he should become.
Any boxing fan should want to like Canelo Alvarez, even if it’s becoming more difficult to do so by the day. While it’s reductive to merely look at Canelo as the force of “evil” and Golovkin as the embodiment of “good” in this saga, there is some truth to such distinctions.
And yet, one could make a legitimate case for Canelo beating Golovkin when they do fight (even if GGG will be the deserved favorite), and fans have seen Canelo rise to the occasion before.
Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez is the most compelling fight that can be made in boxing, and that’s because Canelo, more than anyone hovering around 160 pounds, belongs in the ring with Golovkin. This goes beyond star power. It’s about skills and a mouthwatering stylistic clash. Every boxing fan understands this, and Golden Boy Promotions and their star fighter should know this better than anyone.