Eaton Thatcher
Gennady Golovkin (-160) vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (+140), Draw (+2200)
Following 12 mind-numbingly boring rounds of boxing, the Álvarez vs. Chavez Jr. event finally produced something interesting. After winning one of the most one-sided bouts imaginable, Canelo Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) called Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) into the ring to announce the fight fans have been waiting for.
The two middleweight superstars will finally meet on September 16th, with Golovkin putting his WBA, WBC, IBF, and IBO titles on the line. Meanwhile, Alvarez puts his Ring title at stake.
This fight has been a long time coming. Alvarez has taken some heavy criticism for ducking Golovkin in the past, but now that the fight has been set, there’s no need to dig all that up again.
Since his loss to Floyd Mayweather back in 2013, Alvarez has built up a seven-fight win streak. The Mexican superstar has matured as a fighter since his first and only professional loss. At just 26 years old, he’s probably pretty close to his prime.
Meanwhile, Gennady Golovkin is most likely a couple of years past his peak. At 35 years old, he’s probably only got a couple more fights left in him and is already showing signs of slowing down. His last two fights weren’t nearly as dominant as we’re accustomed to.
Before having his eye socket broken, Kell Brook was able to expose Golovkin in ways we hadn’t seen before. Brook moved up to middleweight from welterweight to take on Golovkin. He didn’t have the power to inflict any damage, but he was able to point out some real weaknesses in Triple-G’s game.
A fight against WBA champ Danny Jacobs, who entered the ring as the heavy underdog, followed. Surprisingly, the fbout went the full 12 rounds and Golovkin was granted a narrow decision victory.
Having said that, Jacobs would be a tough fight for anyone in the middleweight division, including Alvarez. Golovkin may be on the decline but he still has never been knocked down in both his amateur and professional career.
At -160, Golovkin is the favorite but not by much. If the line continues to move in his favor, I’d be inclined to pick Alvarez. But at these odds, I think Golovkin is the one to back.
Pick: Gennady Golovkin (-160)
Photo credit: RJ Cohen [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]
