There are moments in boxing when the trajectory of time, history, and personality converge to create a moment of combustion. Whether it’s age or styles, personal motivation or bad blood, there are times when two fighters meet at the proverbial ‘crossroads’ in the ring. Both men have decided the result of their encounter will end violently for one of them. There will be no strategic boxing to a decision victory, or trying to ‘outthink’ their opponent. Eventually they know that the question of the day will have to be settled by one method only; war. In light of world events I mean ‘war’ in the boxing sense of course. A pitched, violent battle of wills where one man’s physical body will give out while his soul yearns to carry on. I could be wrong, but this is where I believe the third bout between current undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez and current middleweight champion Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin is headed.
The sport of boxing has seen the flow of events coalesce into a combustible force before. Two older fights that come to mind are the 1975 heavyweight championship bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier (The Thrilla in Manilla), or the singular middleweight explosion in 1985 between Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns (The War). Each fight had bad blood stewing, and fighters who were willing and determined to leave everything in the ring. Fate had brought each man to the point where they knew they weren’t just entering a standard boxing match, but were instead moving towards an inflection point or paradigm shift.
In more recent times we’ve seen bouts like the fourth and final meeting between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012. Or the third and seemingly final heavyweight championship fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder in 2021. Both fights had a measure of historical bad blood. But it was a combination of age, styles, and individual wills that led each fight to evolve towards a certain brutal drama.
Pacquiao and Marquez meshed perfectly stylistically. With Pacquiao's default mode being high powered offense, and Marquez's default mode being that of a deadly precise counter puncher. But it was their inner decision to bring finality to their rivalry that fueled their memorable clash. Their individual will's ruled the day. The same could be said for Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. Fury had decided that the only way to truly beat Wilder's nuclear punching power was to bully him into submission. And like Pacquiao and Marquez, the individual will's of Fury and Wilder had determined that their rivalry would come to an end, one way or another.
On September 17th, Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin will carry on the lineage of boxing's fated clashes. Stylistically, neither fighter is at the age, or has shown a recent fighting temperament that would suggest they will move, or 'dance' around the ring. Golovkin has always moved forward with measured aggression against his opponents. While Canelo, as he has marched up the weight classes, has evolved into a bully type power puncher. This leads me to believe that eventually this fight will end up in the proverbial 'phone booth'. Where the two men stand face to face and deliver pain until the body or mind of one is forced to break.
As for individual will and bad blood; the staredown between the two fighters during a June press conference served as a visual metaphor for their personal distaste. The fighters started about two feet apart from one another, yet Canelo almost immediately moved his face to within six inches of Golovkin’s face. The fighters would be locked in an icy staredown for over a minute, with Canelo trying to keep his gaze on Golovkin even as they parted ways for the obligatory photo op. From observing the encounter, it seemed that Canelo held an inner anger and determination. While Golovkin looked ready to meet Canelo’s rage with a detached, yet resolute response. In other words, the individual wills of the two men seemed aligned and in agreement that this third encounter between them would have a measure of finality.
The promoter of the bout, Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, asked Canelo during the speaking portion of the press conference if this fight was ‘personal’ for him. Canelo responded by saying, ‘It’s personal for me, because he talks a lot of things, and you guys know, that’s why (it’s) personal, and I just can’t wait to be in the ring’. Canelo would go on to add that he saw Golovkin as basically two faced, someone who will only say certain things when they are not in the same room. Canelo would say of Golovkin, ‘he pretends to be a nice guy, but he’s an asshole; just be a man and say what you say’. In terms of his outlook for the fight, Canelo would say not only did he want to end the career of Golovkin, he saw the only way to finish the fight was by knocking Golovkin out. I think it is safe to say Canelo’s opinion and approach to Golovkin qualifies as bad blood.
Golovkin for his part, is naturally more reserved and detached emotionally when it comes to fighting. When asked if he took this third encounter with Canelo personally, he said, ‘I do not take this as personal, I think this is sport. I am who I am, I do not try to be like two different guys, like it’s been said, I go out to box. If he has something personal against me, I believe it is his problem, not mine’. Yet in a later interview with Yahoo Sports, Golovkin would say he ‘stood by’ his past words criticizing Canelo for failing a 2018 drug test that Canelo insisted was due to tainted meat in Mexico. Golovkin also conveyed veiled resentment for what he sees as the special treatment Canelo has received during the promotion for the fight, and the favorable judging he received in the first two fights between them.
If one were to compare Canelo and Golovkin to fictional characters, Sonny and Michael Corelone from ‘The Godfather’ would be a good juxtaposition. Sonny, like Canelo, wore his emotions on his sleeve. His temper rose frequently towards those that he felt wronged him, and he was quick to take slights as personal insults. Michael on the other hand was cool and detached like Golovkin. Yet beneath the calm exterior was a plotting, ruthless killer who felt revenge was better delivered in a cold calculating manner than with loud bravado. Both Sonny and Michael were eager for vengeance, they just sought to destroy their enemies by different means. On September 17th, Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin will bring their different demeanors into the ring. Yet coming along with them will be all the historical and personal ingredients that can combine for a memorable night of boxing. So when the bell rings to signify the opening of the first round, it might not just be time for a fight - it might be time for war.
