Canelo vs Golvkin will be a knock down, drag out fight.
For a long while it seemed that all people could talk about was the Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor bout and with good reason. It was one of the highest bought pay-per-views of all time and the fight actually lived up to the hype. But the spectacle is what attracted the masses to that match up. The bout between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin is something else entirely. It pits two career boxers in their prime against one another to determined who is the king of boxing. While many are picking Canelo Alvarez to give Gennady Golovkin his first loss, it may not be as simple as people are thinking.
Canelo Alvarez has proven himself to be one of the pound for pound greats by having a very complete style of boxing. He isn’t supremely aggressive unless he has his man hurt or he’s fighting a counter puncher. In fact, Canelo seems to find comfort in counter punching his opponents, usually utilizing the jab or a feint to draw out their attack, evading the opponent’s counter, then entering in once again with his own strikes. You can usually find him jabbing in the center of the ring, slipping his opponent’s return jab, then rocking them with a straight right hand.
With a tendency to sometimes find himself against the ropes, Canelo Alvarez will want to abandon such a game plan for this fight. While he should be prepared to fight off of the ropes, it’s exactly where Golovkin shines. The idea should be to fight in space, hold Golovkin off with jabs and feints and return fire when there’s openings. Feinting the jab to the left hook or showing the right hand and entering with a left uppercut should be nice options.
Besides that, Canelo should look to target the body early and often in hopes of slowing down Golovkin and killing his power in order to get into the later rounds. He has enough pop to cause serious damage to the body.
For Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin, or GGG as he’s come to be widely known, pressure has always played a major role in his victories. While he has all the skills necessary to box at range or play a slick counter punching game, Golovkin enjoys walking his opponents down. He utilizes his jab to both control space, mask power punches or keep his opponent at bay when they try to counter punch. He loves to shift through his power shots meaning he’ll throw a powerful right hand, step forward into a southpaw stance to throw a powerful left hook then step through to orthodox once again. This adds to his range and forces his opponents back into the ropes.
From there Golovkin loves to keep his opponents guessing with some sharp jabs followed up by some powerful body shots which can end anyone’s night.
In order to win this match Gennady Golovkin will have to employ a very specific game plan. He’ll have to be first and make Canelo work. As the bigger man Golovkin may be at a speed disadvantage, but that may not matter if he can constantly initiate his offense before Canelo can react. He’ll also have to be busy busy with his jab and force Canelo into a shell in order to attack with power to the body. Golovkin is blessed with some crushing power in both hands so it’s absolutely necessary that he puts fear in Canelo from the outset. Golovkin’s best bet is to throw the jab and immediately follow up with an overhand right to catch Canelo during his pull counter.
Golovkin would have to immediately follow up with the overhand directly after the jab as a pause between the two punches could leave him open to a counter. If he can land the overhand right and shift forward into another power shot, then Golovkin can put Canelo on his back heels and force him to the ropes where he can do his best work.
It’s a tough fight for both men, make no mistake. Whoever wins this one will have to do so utilizing every skill in their possession in order to obtain victory.
Who do you think wins this fight, Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin?
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Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
GIFS created from source Boxing Legends TV
