Gennady Golovkin has already done a lot to secure his place in boxing history.
While his 37-0 record is impressive, Golovkin also managed to put together an unprecedented streak where he either knocked out or retired his opponent between rounds a remarkable 23 consecutive times.
Golovkin has won and retained numerous middleweight titles over the course of his career after first winning a belt back in 2009. His list of accomplishments are long, but Golovkin isn’t lost on how important his fight on Saturday night against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will be for his legacy.
“I understand my situation. I think Canelo he understands his situation. This is huge,” Golovkin told MMAWeekly. “For business, for the sport, for money. For me it’s more important for the sport because who wins is No. 1 in the world. Pound-for-pound No. 1.”
While the pound-for-pound list in any combat sport is always up for debate, it’s hard to argue against Golovkin’s logic based on the resume he’s put together alongside Alvarez, who has only suffered defeat once in his career from a 2013 fight against Floyd Mayweather.
Golovkin has been watching “Canelo” fight for a number of years and he’s been impressed by what the Mexican born boxer has been able to do throughout his career. Of course, Golovkin stopped short of paying “Canelo” those same compliments when it came to his last bout where he trounced an out matched Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
In that fight, Alvarez absolutely pummeled Chavez Jr. for all 12 rounds en route to a lopsided unanimous decision win and while it was another victory to tack onto his record, Golovkin didn’t really see it as top notch competition.
“For me Canelo beat him, knocked him down. I know Chavez is a very good fighter, but in the last two or three years he’s nothing,” Golovkin said. “He’s not training. He’s seriously nothing. Canelo looks strong and in the middleweight division he looks much better. He brings more power, more speed, more experienced.”
While “Canelo” ran through his last opponent, Golovkin had arguably the toughest fight of his career in his last bout when he ran into veteran middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs earlier this year.
Golovkin had to put everything he had into all 12 rounds against Jacobs, who got dropped in the fourth round but refused to fade away until the final bell. While that was definitely a test of wills, Golovkin knows that Jacobs isn’t Alvarez and these are going to be two completely different fights.
“Every fight is different. I respect Daniel Jacobs. He’s a very good fighter and I think everybody has problems with him,” Golovkin said. “Right now it’s a different story my fight with Canelo. I’ve known him a long time and he knows me. It’s a new story.
“Two champions, unification fight, it’s a different story.”
While the Jacobs fight put an end to Golovkin’s knockout streak, the Kazakhstan native still possesses some of the deadliest power in the sport.
“Canelo” has rarely been hurt in his fights much less come close to being knocked out so that’s an entirely different kind of challenge for Golovkin on Saturday night.
Of course, Golovkin would love to start a new knockout streak but he’s not willing to call his shot against Alvarez or any other opponent for that matter.
“This is boxing. I’m not a god,” Golovkin said. “Everybody has a chance. Everybody has power. It’s 50/50, who’s first.”
