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Although Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin fought for the first time in 2017, the boxing world has been discussing them fighting much longer than that. The two have been in one another’s orbit for over eight years, first as “dream opponents” with Canelo the bigger star chasing Golovkin in acclaim, and Golovkin inversely wanting Canelo’s popularity, then as in-ring rivals and real life adversaries.
This Saturday, Canelo and GGG will meet for a third time at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV in an event aired on DAZN PPV. In all likelihood it will be the last time they share the ring, but it certainly won’t be the end of the debate surrounding their fights or their respective legacies in comparison to one another. It’s a trilogy that has given us controversy both in and out of the ring to compliment, to this point, 24 rounds of the highest level of fighting we’ve seen in this era.
Though it hasn’t always been the case, many trilogies are laced with personal animosity between the two combatants. A lot of things have to line up for a trilogy to happen in the first place. For one, the fights themselves have to either be so exciting that the public demands encores, or the bouts are competitive and inconclusive enough to warrant more between the same two fighters. On top of that, it has to make the most financial sense for the two to keep fighting one another, which is often antithetical to a pursuit of titles and riches, like repeating the same level over and over. However, if they truly dislike one another, or at least have the taste of dissatisfaction with the results of the previous bouts or the public’s reactions to them stuck in their maw, sometimes that can supersede everything. And when high level fighters who are evenly matched truly despise one another, that’s a recipe for boxing at its best.
Canelo and GGG first negotiated a fight in 2015 though at that time, things were rather cordial. In effect, the camps agreed to take “interim bouts” prior to fighting one another, which they did, prior to the big reveal that Canelo-GGG would take place following Alvarez’s easy victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The fight was big enough that even Dodger Stadium reportedly put a bid in for the bout, but T-Mobile was ultimately chosen as the venue, another constant in the fighters’ story together.
The first fight would cement the dynamic for the rivalry, but also add conspiratorial elements that made–and continue to make–discussion between the fighters’ respective fanbases consistently volatile. Alvarez and Golovkin fought to a split draw, with scores of 113–115, 114–114 and 118–110. The latter, a scorecard turned in by Adalaide Byrd, became the subject of universal ire in the boxing community. While many felt that Golovkin won the fight, some felt that a draw could have at least been justifiable. But Byrd’s lopsided scorecard in favor of Canelo did him no favors. It led some to believe that as one of the sport’s biggest draws, Canelo was given preferential treatment on scorecards, citing CJ Ross’ draw scorecard during his loss to Floyd Mayweather and debatable scores against Erislandy Lara as proof that there was a pattern of favoritism.
For some, it painted Canelo as the “establishment” and GGG as the people’s champion fighting to take him down. For those who felt that way, what happened next would establish Canelo as a heel figure. Prior to a scheduled rematch, Canelo failed a random drug test, testing positive for clenbuterol. Subsequent explanations offered, such as the possibility that traces of clenbuterol were ingested through eating beef from Mexico, became a source of online mockery.
It also provided something tangibly personal for the fighters to feud over. Golovkin to this day maintains that Canelo didn’t suffer adequate consequences and has said that he is a “bad person.”
Had Canelo wound up losing the rematch, his career would have taken a different trajectory entirely. Missteps can often be forgiven by the broader public if you win. Canelo entered the rematch with a different game plan than he had in the first bout, employing a power counter-punching style. According to CompuBox’s stats on the second bout, Golovkin outlanded Alvarez (234-202) overall, and outthrew him (879-622), too. But Alvarez topped GGG 143-116 in power punches. Judges Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld both scored the bout 115-113, and the third judge Glenn Fieldman scored it 114-114.
Some ringside observers scored this bout for Golovkin too, but the controversy was more muted, with some feeling that a decision going either way was at least justifiable, unlike Byrd’s scorecard in the first bout.
Following the fight, Canelo described it as “the happiest day of his life.” It was the materially biggest moment of his life. Not long after, he signed a gargantuan $365 million contract with DAZN. That avalanche of cash and the publicity surrounding it pushed Canelo into a different level of esteem from the sporting public and the mainstream press. He instantly became one of the richest athletes on the planet, and allowed him to start a gas station business, a cellular company, and purchase a lot of horses and vehicles. But he also followed it up with a legacy-firming string of victories, becoming undisputed super middleweight champion and a titleholder at light heavyweight.
Had Canelo not lost to Dmitry Bivol last time out, the third bout against Golovkin would have taken on a different feeling, one of inevitability. Prior to the Bivol loss—but also prior to GGG’s stoppage win over Ryota Murata—the assumption amongst many was that Canelo was too young, too fresh and too powerful for a 40-year old version of Golovkin to handle. But with one fighter coming off a loss and the other a knockout win, there is at least a question in some people’s minds as to how the fight will play out.
The story of Canelo and GGG is particularly fascinating because even if the fights had been fought identically and if the same issues arose outside of the ring, had they simply been scored or litigated differently, it would have changed not just the dynamics of their respective careers but perhaps the boxing landscape in the 2020s entirely.
The pair of fights between the two have given us violence, drama and debate to enjoy indefinitely. The one thing it could never give us is finality at any turn. Perhaps we’ll get some on Saturday, just this once.