Canelo-Golovkin: Will GGG show more willingness to engage in rematch?

Boxing24.com

By Juan Flores:

IBF/IBO/WB A/WBC middleweight champion Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) likely lost a lot of boxing fans after the way he fought former WBC 160lb champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) last September on HBO pay-per-view.

Golovkin’s fans seemed upset after the fight for him not getting the win, but they understood that he failed to take the fight to Canelo in the way he needed to for him to earn the decision. The judges saw the fight as a deadlock in scoring it as a tie. They scored it as a 12 round draw. That was the best the judges could do. Golovkin fought on the outside all night long, throwing jabs and not showing the courage to mix it up with Canelo. Golovkin thought he could beat Canelo the way Floyd Mayweather Jr. did, but he lacked the hand speed, reflexes and boxing skills to get the job done. The judges didn’t rob GGG. He robbed himself by not realizing that he didn’t poss the talent to outbox Canelo.

Golovkin threw away whatever chance that he had to win the fight against Canelo by giving up the first 3 rounds by not engaging. Once GGG fell behind in the fight, he already dug a big hole for himself against the 27-year-old Canelo as far his ability to the fight by a decision. Golovkin was never going to beat a boxer like Canelo by a decision without attacking him and knocking him down 2 or 3 times.

Golovkin didn’t want to take any chances against Canelo by fighting a war, which is what he needed. One theory bandied about by boxing fans for Golovkin’s unwillingness to exchange with Canelo is he was too in awe of the Mexican star. Golovkin didn’t seem to believe in himself enough to turn the fight into a war the way he he’d done in the past against weaker opposition.

There was a lot of booing after the fight. Some boxing fans were booing Canelo, but a lot of them were simply upset at the fight not having a clear winner. Fans never like to see draws. They want a winner, especially when they pay to see a fight live like they did with the Canelo-GGG fight.

Golovkin has to make a decision when it comes to the rematch with Canelo. Golovkin can either decide to use the same approach as last time by staying on the outside and jabbing all night long or he can show some courage by getting in there and trying to brawl with Canelo. We all know that’s what Canelo wants Golovkin to do.

Canelo dared Golovkin to mix it up with him last September, but he couldn’t get him to take him up on the offer. After the fight was over, Golovkin said that Canelo didn’t want to fight him with the Mexican style. That’s not what the case was. Golovkin didn’t want to fight with Canelo. GGG wanted to play it safe by standing and jabbing from the outside. GGG needs to take responsibility for his failure to fight the right fight to beat Canelo. Golovkin will never possess the hand speed and boxing skills to beat Canelo by a decision without knocking him down 3 or more times. Canelo is too talented for Golovkin to beat him in that manner. The sooner Triple G understands that he only has one way to beat Canelo the better he’ll be.

Golovkin probably won’t change for the rematch with Canelo. Golovkin lacks the hand speed to stand and trade with Canelo, and he’s not willing to put himself in the position where he’ll look bad. To have a chance of knocking Canelo out, Gokovkin will need to take his heavy shots long enough to wear him down. Golovkin won’t do that though because he’ll be embarrassed and possibly knocked out.

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