The biggest fight in boxing is on, as the undefeated middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin, “Triple G,” will fight the Mexican two-weight world champion Canelo Alvarez Jr. on September 16. This comes after Alvarez absolutely routed Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Saturday night in a unanimous victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,501 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Alvarez improved to 49-1-1 in his career with the win.
To recap Saturday’s fight, or the “Mexican Civil War” as quoted by Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar de la Hoya, it was unexpectedly one-sided in favor of Alvarez. Sure, there were several times where Alvarez was pinned to the ropes, and Chavez was able to throw solid punches—but those moments were brief. In his post-fight interview, he admitted he got tired by the second half, but said he let Chavez throw in some punches to please the audience.
“I wasn’t ever hurt,” he said. “But I was inviting him to open up and exchange so we could give the public a beautiful fight.”
It was a beautiful fight. In an amazing display of athleticism and insanity, Alvarez refused to sit between rounds even though he was working the much bigger Chavez like a punching bag. In fact, through the first three rounds, Alvarez was throwing nearly double the number of strikes as Chavez. Clearly, the 4″ height advantage, nor the 3″ reach advantage of Chavez mattered in the bout, as it was Alvarez who looked to be in a different class than Chavez.
Perhaps in September Alvarez will meet his match as he faces Golovkin, who is coming off a decision win against Daniel Jacobs on March 18. Golovkin, who appeared ringside during Saturday’s fight, spoke to the media after the bout.
“Everyone understands this is a tough fight for both of us,” he said. “This is an amazing fight for everyone. Of course, I respect his team. Everybody wanted this fight.”
Promoter de la Hoya also said that despite some hiccups, the fight was ultimately smooth in getting both sides to agreement.
“The Triple G side is a pleasure to work with,” he said. “We negotiated back and forth several times. No big deal. These big fights take time to make. It took a couple of weeks to make [once talks resumed]…and it got done a few days ago.”
As for the Alvarez vs. Golovkin fight and what it means to the sport of boxing, de la Hoya said, “We are extremely proud we can have this fight with Triple G for you in September, which will be one of the biggest fights anticipated in recent years. When you have fighters who want to make the best fights, it makes the job much easier. Boxing is back, bigger and better than ever. You have your ups and downs. It’s a roller coaster. Right now, we’re living a great moment for boxing, and we will for a long time.”
Boxing fans, the fight you’ve all been waiting for is finally on the horizon. Will Golovkin defend his title belt for the 19th time this September? Or will there be a new champion?
