Gennadiy Golovkin: Can 'Triple G' turn back the clock and defeat Canelo Alvarez?

Gennadiy Golovkin will clash with arch-rival Canelo Alvarez for the third time on September 17th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

'Triple G' is the IBF and WBA (Super) Middleweight (160lbs) Champion, but for the first time in his professional career, will be moving up to super middleweight (168lbs).

While Canelo Alvarez may have lost his last fight against Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight (175lbs), he still holds all the major world titles at 168, making him the undisputed king of the division.

Both men will be entering their trilogy bout with bad intentions. Their first fight in 2017 ended in a draw and the 2018 rematch saw Alvarez win a razor-close majority decision. Despite the Mexican superstar's immense success over the last four years, many fans continue to believe he should have lost both Golovkin bouts. Alvarez will be looking to finally put this saga of his career to rest, while 'Triple G' will be looking to exact his long-awaited revenge.

However, the Kazakh champion is now 40 and will be going up against a 32-year-old prime Alvarez come September.

This leads many fans to wonder: does the veteran champion still have enough left in the tank to take down one of the best boxers on the planet?

Gennadiy Golovkin's defense and movement are not what they used to be

While Gennadiy Golovkin is yet to lose to a boxer not named Canelo Alvarez, over the last few years, it's become apparent that 'Triple G' is not the same fighter he was back in 2018.

The veteran middleweight champion was never known as a slick defensive counterpuncher. Nor was he known for dancing around the ring. The middleweight champion became a fan favorite due to his thunderous punching power. However, many forgot that he is an Olympic Silver Medalist. (Boxers generally don't make it far into the Olympics, relying on a single attribute, and Gennadiy Golovkin was no exception.)

For the majority of his career, the Kazakh star has always wielded strong fundamentals between the ropes. In 2013, Golovkin displayed solid head movement and quick feet against Matthew Macklin before knocking him out with a body shot in the third round.

In 2015, 'Triple G' fought David Lemieux in a title unification bout. What was initially viewed as a puncher versus puncher matchup turned out to be a boxing masterclass. Golovkin took Lemieux to school with a piston jab and avoided the majority of his offense with impressive footwork before scoring the stoppage in the eighth round.

Sure, there were opponents prior to Canelo who managed to land flush on 'Triple G'. His fights with Gabriel Rosado, Willie Monroe, and Danny Jacobs come into mind. However, in recent years, Golovkin has become much, much more hittable.

In 2019, a year after his decision defeat to Canelo Alvarez, Gennadiy Golovkin fought Sergiy Derevyanchenko for the vacant IBF Middleweight Title. Despite scoring a first-round knockdown with an impressive six-punch combination, 'Triple G' was forced into a firefight for the remainder of the bout.

Derevyanchenko fought back hard and constantly pressured Golovkin with a high-volume and body-orientated attack. At the end of the night, 'Triple G' earned a highly-contested split decision victory.

Two months ago, Golovkin defended his IBF Middleweight Title and won the WBA (Super) Championship when he defeated Japan's Ryōta Murata. 'Triple G' was able to deliver a brutal beatdown towards the second half of the fight, earning a stoppage victory in the ninth round. However, Murata found a lot of success early on, tagging his foe with hard shots and consistently forcing him on the backfoot.

While Gennadiy Golovkin has managed to win his last few fights, he has been forced to rely more on his chin and grit. His footwork, compared to his earlier days, is much more linear and less nimble, and his upper body movement has almost become nonexistent.

At the end of the day, Gennadiy Golovkin still has dynamite in his gloves

Gennadiy Golovkin will lock horns with his bitter rival in September. Some may claim he has the momentum heading into the bout. After all, the middleweight champion has never lost except for the 2018 rematch with Canelo. Meanwhile, Alvarez is coming off a huge upset loss to Dmitry Bivol.

However, it's important to note that Golovkin and Bivol are completely different boxers. For starters, the latter is a light heavyweight. Secondly, the Kazakh fighter does not possess the Russian's footwork, handspeed, and most importantly, youth. Golovkin will not be able to replicate Bivol's gameplan come September.

Although, 'Triple G' still hits like a truck and possesses an iron chin. For all the success Derevyanchenko and Murata had against him, both fighters came out of the ring bruised, bloodied, and battered.

Canelo Alvarez recently admitted that he feels anger going into this trilogy fight. He is coming off a loss and has long had to hear Golovkin, and his large fanbase, claiming robbery. The Mexican champion will look to make a statement. He will want to remind the world of his greatness and why he is one of the best.

In 2018, he found tremendous success by taking the fight to Golovkin and putting him on the backfoot. He will certainly try a similar gameplan for the third bout. After all, 'Triple G' is now four years older since the last time they fought. His jab — which gave Canelo terrible trouble in the second fight — is not as sharp. His hands are not as quick. His attacks are not as varied (Gennadiy Golovkin used to be a brutal body puncher).

However, before the start of their 25th round in September, Canelo should remember: in boxing, as fighters age, power is the last thing to go.

Edited by C. Naik