Gennadiy Golovkin has responded to Canelo Alvarez's recent comments ahead of their possible trilogy bout.
'GGG' and the Mexican superstar fought for the first time in September 2017. After 12 hard fought rounds, the bout was controversially ruled a split-draw. Many fans, and Golovkin himself, thought that he had won the fight.
A year later, the two men fought again. This time, tensions were running high after Alvarez tested positive for Clenbuterol, which caused the second fight to be postponed. This time, the Mexican champ won via majority decision.
The rivalry is possibly being revisited later this year. If both men win their next bouts, the two will have a trilogy bout in September. Ahead of the third outing, Alvarez has stated that the bout is personal due to Golovkin's trash-talk.
Golovkin responded on The Ariel Helwani Show and asked if the rivalry was that important to Alvarez, why did he wait so long to fight him again? He said:
"I'll be honest, if he believes that something has been said and that something is personal, where has he been all those years? Three or four years already? If it's personal, what has he been waiting for? I have not said anything bad, and anything I've said was tied to the [steroid] scandals, and he was the cause of those scandals."
Watch Gennadiy Golovkin on The Ariel Helwani Show below:
Canelo Alvarez wants to beat Gennadiy Golovkin by knockout
Canelo Alvarez holds a victory over Gennadiy Golovkin, and the series currently sits at 1-0-1. Even with the win under his belt, it's worth noting that both of those fights were hard-fought 12-round contests where the decision was very close.
Alvarez has likely seen some talk of Golovkin and others believing that the latter won their first two encounters. As such, he's aiming to end the rivalry on a high note, and believes he'll win their trilogy bout via knockout.
In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Alvarez said:
"That's what I feel [that I will end the rivalry with a knockout]. First things first, I need to win this fight. I win this fight, and then we can talk about it. But that's what I feel with that fight."