"They know each other" - Sugar Ray Leonard and Bernard Hopkins get real on Canelo vs. GGG 3

Sugar Ray Leonard and Bernard Hopkins recently gave their take on the upcoming fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin. The bout will be the third installment between the two modern-day greats.

In an interview with ESNEWS, Bernard Hopkins was asked about his prediction for the fight. The soon-to-be Hall of Famer replied:

"They know each other, right? When you have that type of set-up, you normally won't see a different show, you'll see the same show. It might be a little more brutal for 'GGG'... I think it's going to be more easier for Canelo."

Sugar Ray Leonard was then asked about his prediction. He said that he agreed with everything that Hopkins said, then added:

"Is it going to be challenging? Yes, it is, but it's going to be more mental, it's going to be more psychological, I feel."

While Sugar Ray Leonard made his name as a welterweight, Bernard Hopkins is regarded as one of the greatest middleweight fighters of all time. Leonard had a famous trilogy with Roberto Duran, and Hopkins had multiple bouts with fighters such as Roy Jones Jr., Chad Dawson, and Jean Pascal.

Check out the full interview with Hopkins and Leonard here:

---

Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran trilogy

Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin 3 is expected to conclude one of the greatest trilogies in boxing. Other famous trilogies include Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, Micky Ward vs. Arturo Gatti, and Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Erik Morales.

One of the most well-known trilogies in the sport besides the ones mentioned above is Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran. The fighters clashed twice in 1980 and again in 1989. Leonard lost the first bout but won the second and third fights. The second fight famously ended when Duran quit in round eight after a particularly dominant performance by Leonard.

Their first contest took place on June 20, 1980. It is known as 'The Brawl in Montreal'. The fight was one of the biggest in boxing history and the first of the unforgettable clashes between the 'Four Kings' – Leonard, Duran, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler. In the bout, Leonard decided to fight Duran head-to-head and lost a brutal 15-rounder via unanimous decision.

The second and third contests were largely controlled by Leonard, who intentionally avoided being drawn into a firefight.