Golovkin says he might be finished after Canelo fight

By Allan Fox: Gennady “GGG” Golovkin surprised a lot of boxing fans on Thursday by revealing that his career might be done after his September 16 fight against Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Golovkin and Canelo are fighting each in a big money PPV fight on HBO from the T-Mobile Arena. Golovkin is the favorite despite being 9 years older than the 26-year-Canelo. Golovkin is 35-years-old and is coming off of back to back off performances against Danny Jacobs and Kell Brook.

Golovkin won the fights, but he didn’t look like the fighter that he’d been a year or two ago. If Golovkin does retire, it would be a big disappointment to Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya, as he’s talking about wanting to put together three fights between Golovkin and Canelo. De La Hoya sees there being a real possibility of 3 fights between Canelo and Golovkin. That doesn’t look like it’s going to fit into GGG’s plans if he gets beaten by Canelo on September 16.

Golovkin seems ambivalent about whether he’ll continue or his career beyond the upcoming Canelo fight. He’ll likely make his decision based on whether he wins the fight or not. The good news for Golovkin is he’s the favorite. He’s facing a smaller, weaker Canelo Alvarez, who might not have the size or the power to compete at the highest rungs of the ladder in the middleweight division. Canelo seems lacking in the power and the size department for the 160 pound division. When it’s all said and done, Canelo might not possess the power to win by knockouts at middleweight. At 5’8″, Canelo is slightly bigger than Miguel Cotto. Canelo is going to be at a disadvantage against Triple G, as well as a lot of other middleweights in the division.

“I don’t know. Maybe after this fight I’m finished, maybe not. I feel very good,” said Golovkin to ESPN.com. “OK I’m 35 but I feel like I’m 25. But this is boxing, not soccer, it’s not a game, this is a fight and every fight is very difficult.”

Golovkin’s thoughts about retirement could suggest that he’s concerned about losing to Canelo. It would be a tough pill to swallow for the unbeaten GGG to deal with a defeat at the hands of the much younger Canelo. You have to see it from Golovkin’s perspective. If he gets beaten by Canelo, it would put him in a tough position if it’s a conclusive loss. If Golovkin gets dominated and not just beaten by a close decision, then it might be pointless for him to fight Canelo again.

Sticking around the sport at that point might be a bad idea for Golovkin. Danny Jacobs wants a piece of Golovkin in a rematch, and he feels confident now that now that he knows how to beat him. Unbeaten Jermall Charlo is poised for a shot at Golovkin as well if he beats Jorge Sebastian Heiland. Then there’s the highly talented newcomers Luis Arias and Ryota Murata. Those are all tough outs for Golovkin, as well as Canelo if Golden Boy Promotions decides to let him fight the good opposition at middleweight.

You never can tell what Golden Boy will do when it comes to their match-making for Canelo. They might choose to steer him around the talented fighters at 160 if they can get a win over Golovkin. That win alone will give them justification not to put Canelo in with Jermall Charlo, Arias or Murata for a little while.

“I think there could be three fights, I’m ready, I want,” said Golovkin in response to a question about there being a possibility of three fights against Canelo. ”I believe it is possible. I think it’s the best fight for boxing.”

As you can see, Golovkin seems to change his mind quickly. I don’t think that Golovkin is really serious about retiring right now. He’s the favorite for the Canelo fight, and he’s likely going to beat him, possibility by a knockout. There won’t be a reason for Golovkin to retire if he beats Canelo. If anyone that should be retiring, it would be Canelo, who would be facing a lot of tough questions about where he can go. To be sure, Golden Boy can lure Golovkin into giving Canelo another fight or two, but I don’t think it’ll wind up having a good outcome for the redheaded Mexican star.

It took Golovkin a lot of years to get to where he is right now with his popularity in the U.S. It’s unlikely that he’d be willing to pack it in after one fight against Canelo. If Golovkin beats Canelo, then he definitely won’t be retiring from boxing. Golovkin will shoot for a rematch with him if Golden Boy is willing to let their number one money fighter Canelo fight Golovkin a second time. That would be risky for Golden Boy to make that move because his career as a PPV attraction might be destroyed by Golovkin if he obliterates Canelo twice in a row.

Golovkin also wants to win the final world title not in his possession with the WBO belt held by Billy Joe Saunders. Golovkin will go for that fight for sure unless he fights three straight times like De La Hoya is talking about. De La Hoya envisions Canelo winning the first fight. It’s not realistic that De La Hoya will keep letting Canelo fight Golovkin if he gets beaten

Golovkin’s punching power looks to be as good now as it’s ever been. With that power alone, Golovkin will be trouble for anyone in the division for a long time. Golovkin’s jab is arguably the best in the middleweight division as well. The combination of Golovkin’s freakish power and his powerful jab makes him a tough nut to crack for Canelo.

There’s only one way Canelo can beat Golovkin and that’s by out-boxing him over 12 rounds. Canelo’s knockouts in the past have come against marginal opposition like James Kirkland, Amir Khan, Liam Smith and Alfredo Angulo. Canelo hasn’t knocked out anybody good. Of course, Canelo also hasn’t fought a lot of good fighters. He’s faced 3 good fighters during his career. If Golovkin is able to catch Canelo with his big power shots, he’s going to make him an unhappy camper in this fight on September 16.

It’s going to be tough for Canelo to beat Golovkin on September 16 because he’s facing a bigger, stronger and arguably tougher fighter than anyone he’s ever faced before. You have to remember that Canelo’s record has been built on beating guys like Khan, Kermit Cintron, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr,, Liam Smith, Kirkland and Shane Mosley. Canelo hasn’t been beating the real quality guys during his career. He lost to Mayweather, and never fought Golovkin when he had the chance 2 years ago.