PAUL J DALEY – CANELO VIA UD

The dying embers of a volcanic clash are all that remain from what once was an inferno of a contest between two of the sports greats, now all that is left is the hope that they will once more ignite to rain down sparks of entertainment with the closing of the Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin trilogy.

It’s a contest that if truth be told as slightly passed its sell by date, not that you will find any evidence from the gate on Saturday night which is sure to be frenzied with Mexican and Kazakh support.

So the question is, why are we waiting four years to see what as become one of history’s great rivalries? Well that could be down to clever management from the red-headed Mexican who must have thought he was fortunate to exit the rematch with a 1-0-1 deficit in his favour.

Whether you hold the same opinion as the majority or that of the minority it becomes difficult to unanimously claim one way or the other.

So what’s changed? Why now? Well Canelo is coming off the back of a second career defeat, one in which there was no contradiction. He finally came up against an unmovable obstacle in Dmitry Bivol that would shift but instead was handed a boxing lesson from the Light Heavyweight Ruler on route to a second career defeat.

Canelo in the rare occurrence found himself needing a big name that would once more catapult him into the sporting stratosphere. Here is where a 40-year old ‘Triple G’ comes in, still holding court amongst the worlds best but with a couple of extra miles on the clock.

Gennady Golovkin without knowing the ins or out’s of contract negotiations would have jumped at the chance to face his old nemesis regardless of his wilting skill-set.

In his most recent outing with Ryota Murata, he struggled in the early parts of the contest to gain traction, sure that corrected itself to win via stoppage but Canelo would have looked upon that contest as a lion would to an injured springbok.

Earlier still was the annihilation of the over-matched Kamil Szeremeta but go back one further will find a slightly relieved Golovkin red-faced from a hellish encounter with Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

It added fuel to the flame that he is not the same fighter who pushed Alvarez close in their second encounter, far removed still from the one that should have had his hand raised in 2017.

So I suppose it comes down to a pick which having asked some knowledgeable boxing fans I was hoping would be slightly less Mexican tasting in the outcome, but the proof is in the pudding as they say.

It’s difficult to paper over the cracks that the fight as come at a time where Golovkin for the first time in his career as looked vulnerable, aged 40 his prime years you would have to admit are far behind him which mixed with the fact that the fight is being fought at 168 further adds to a Canelo victory. Some will point out that Canelo lost handily last time out but that’s slightly taking away from the greatness of Bivol, especially at the Light Heavyweight limit.

So, it’s more prudent to look at the fights before with a feeling that Canelo will step through the ropes as the betting favourite with good reason.

My heart yearns for a Gennady victory, In my humble opinion he should have had his hand raised in the first fight between the two plus I love a underdog story which in this rare instance is where I find Triple G, but my head rules this pick, feeling that the contest will go to another point victory for Canelo by a score of 115-113, Canelo talks about stopping Gennady but he’s had 24 rounds to do so without success so ill stick with the tried and tested.

BOXING RUNDOWN – CANELO VIA UD

Unlike the consensus, I don’t see it as an easy match up for Canelo, but I do see Canelo beating Golovkin with no controversy attached. Golovkin’s age seems to be the main reason why most are picking Canelo to win come Saturday night, and rightfully so, no one beats father time. My concern is Golovkin fighting at 168lb for the first time, against a man who undeniably has found his home in that particular weight class. Although power is the last thing to go in a fighter, my concern is that Golovkin will be slower with his hands and feet carrying those extra lbs, against a younger in his prime Canelo.

MARCO GARCIA – CANELO VIA UD

It’s been four years since Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin shared the ring last in what was a controversial win for the red-headed Mexican. Much has changed, both fighters have gotten older, their styles adjusting to their shrinking gas tanks and slower reflexes, but who has more left?

In Canelo’s last appearance he was handily defeated at light heavyweight by Dmitry Bivol, after looking dominant at super middleweight as the current unified king; he looked vulnerable for the first time since facing GGG. As for Golovkin, he made a boat load of cash travelling to Japan to defeat secondary titlist Ryota Murata by KO in what started off as a stern test from the worthy challenger; prior to that were bouts of inactivity and “gimmie fights” sprinkled with a heavy dosage of pain by Sergiy Derevyanchenko. At 40 years of age what can we expect from the once-defeated Kazakh fighter? He still has power, skills, and a jab that not only measures but disarms; but is it enough to defeat the face of North American boxing? A not so young 32 year old Alvarez comes into this fight looking for vengeance, not only for the very public insults from GGG and his former trainer, but to get over the ghost of his last defeat. I expect another close fight, the extra weight will probably give GGG an added boost while Canelo’s work rate has slowed over the years in a style where he seeks to land powerful counter shots first. Although I’m a huge Golovkin fan, I believe he will lose a tough unanimous decision as he has given up too many early rounds in recent fights as his engine revs up. For Canelo, he’ll erase the doubts of many fans with this win…maybe.

DEAN BERKS – CANELO VIA UD

There is no denying that this fight should have happened straight after fight number two. It was once again a debatable decision but Canelo called the shots and Golovkin was forced to wait and re-establish himself as the world’s premier middleweight. There was a feeling at first that this fight may have come a little too late for Golovkin, especially after tough fights with Derevyanchenko and Murata whilst entering the latter stages of his career, but Canelo’s loss to Bivol has given many the feeling that maybe he can finally get a result in his favour. Despite appearing a little slower, his ring generalship, power and style will always give Canelo trouble.

As for the champion, against Bivol he seemed a little burnt out, not that I think that would have made any difference as Bivol’s skills and movement would likely get the better of Canelo if they fought ten times. But it did show that despite all of his ability, Canelo has his boogeymen, although his achievements beforehand outline what an astonishing fighter he is.

Golovkin isn’t particularly fleet-footed but his cutting off of the ring is still something to admire. But will it be effective this time? Canelo is itching to prove himself as the best whilst Golovkin straight up wants revenge. I think the fight will unfold similar to fight number two with Canelo looking to slowly break Golovkin down. Whilst I don’t expect a stoppage, I do expect Canelo to once again come through a bitter, hard fight, and take a close decision.

RICARDO CASTINEYRA – Canelo

I really hope it is a fight worthy of a trilogy, the first two fights have enough for
fans to know what to expect from the third contest. Its a crossroads in Golovkin’s career if he loses he might retire and if he wins, he would continue his career as a result of having gained confidence from beating a fighter that many consider the best

While in the case of Canelo, he would like to leave no doubt, a triumph would allow him to continue without having that blemish called ‘Golovkin’ hanging over him. Today I lean towards Canelo due to his boxing resources, youth and the responsibility of carrying the title of the best pound for pound. Although, as always, I hope it will be a good fight that will leave the trilogy as one of the best in the history books.

ROY BENNETT – CANELO VIA UD

Golovkin has to prevent the redhead from fighting at his pace. Alvarez likes to slow fights down because he’s never been comfortable in a fast paced fight. The stamina issues are real. At this stage of GGG’s career though I doubt he’s got enough left to push Alvarez over the edge into the abyss. Murata seemed to hurt GGG to the body before he roared back to get the stoppage win, but he looked vulnerable in that contest which doesn’t bode well for him come Saturday night. I think pride will keep him in there until the final bell but he loses a unanimous decision. Somewhere, David Benevidez will be cursing not so quietly knowing Alvarez will refuse to even mention his name in the post fight interview as a future opponent. The fans lose again.

TONY TOLJ – CANELO VIA KO

This is always an interesting fight, fighter time comes for us all and I believe GGG has regress significantly in recent times and with Canelo looking to make a statement after losing to Bivil in an addition to coming back to his natural weight. I believe Canelo by KO