Tonight’s fight was not a fight-of-the year candidate, but at least there’s hope on the horizon: the Middleweight showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golokin is a done deal.
On Saturday, May 6, 2017, Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) scored an easy unanimous-decision victory against former Middleweight champion, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-3-1, 32 KOs) in front of 20,5010 people at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The fight, which amounted to a $70-dollar announcement for the aforementioned super fight, headlined an HBO Pay-Per-View event.
Alvarez, 26, is the lineal Middleweight and WBO Junior Middleweight champion who, despite a blemish on his record against Floyd Mayweather, is virtually one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, so it was no surprise that he outclassed Chavez Jr. as he did tonight.
Chavez Jr., 31, had his best days in 2012 when he beat the likes of Marco Antonio Rubio and Andy Lee, but since losing to Sergio Martinez in that same year, his career has been downhill.
Alvarez, on the other hand, besides losing to Mayweather, defeated Erislandy Lara, James Kirkland, Austin Trout and other very good fighters at Junior Middleweight.
Thus, tonight, the stage was set of an utter beatdown from Canelo. Chavez Jr. could barely land a punch, while Alvarez could barely miss one. It was one-sided shellacking in every round.
“Tonight I showed I could move, I could box, I showed as a fighter I can do all things,” said Alvarez.
“I thought I was going to showcase myself as a fighter that could throw punches, but he just wouldn’t do it. I’ve shown I can do lots of things in the ring, anything a fighter brings—I’ve shown I can showcase myself,” said Alvarez.
The real news of tonight, however, was the fight against Golovkin, who walked to the ring as Alvarez called him out.
“GGG—you are next my friend,” said Canelo. And then, like an episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, Golovkin made his way to the ring.
The fight is a done deal for September 16 according to Oscar De La Hoya at the post-fight press conference. However, a venue is not yet set. Las Vegas, Nevada and Houston, Texas are both possibilities, though De La Hoya stated that there is interest all over the world to host the fight.
Both men demonstrated their respect for each other. Golovkin concluded by wishing Alvarez good luck, while Alvarez retorted by stating that good luck is for the mediocre. In the post-fight press conference, both were just as cordial.
However, with the fight being billed as “Bombs Away” and the fact that the styles of both fighters mesh very well, one can expect a great fight between arguably the two best Middleweights in the world.
So, the biggest fight that could be made in boxing is a done deal! Who do you think wins?
Let us know in the comments section below.
